This collection is composed of effects that belonged to Henry Craven St John, a young Lieutenant (later Commander, then Admiral) who brilliantly fought against pirates in the Chinese Seas in the 1860s. It includes: a presentation scroll to Commander Henry Craven St John, conveying thanks for his fighting piracy at Laksui (1866); a covering letter from the Admiralty (1866); a mahogany and brass-fitted medicine box (1860s); and an album of c. 300 watercolours executed by Henry Craven St John, including views painted while serving on the China Station (1850s-1870s). This exceptional collection offers a fascinating insight into the events and life in the Chinese seas in the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion, and contains some rare and beautiful watercolour sketches of various landscapes across Europe and East Asia in the 19th century.

Scroll and covering letter: presentation scroll signed by James Whittall, Tai-Pan of Jardine Matheson and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, and nearly 250 leading inhabitants, to Commander Henry Craven St John, conveying their thanks for his 'gallant services at Laksui' and indefatigable exertions to 'root out the piracy which infests these seas'. The scroll was made in Hong Kong on the 4th of July 1866, and is made of several sheets of quarto blue paper backed with linen, rolled. It is accompanied by a covering letter from the Admiralty forwarding the document to St John at his new station, 17 October 1866.

St John's medicine box: mahogany and brass-fitted medicine box containing a number of glass dispensing bottles (some of them still retain their contents), scales, and weights. This box was used by St John while serving on the Chinese Coast from 1864 to 1866 as a young Lieutenant in Command based on Hong Kong. No doctor was present on the ship, and St John used this box to deal with the medical needs of those onboard. The box also contains a provenance note written by St John's grandchild.

Watercolours album: album containing c. 300 watercolours executed by St John during his service with the Royal Navy during the 1850s-1870s. The paintings show his interest in natural history and represent coastal landscapes from all around the world. Places depicted include: Malta, Florence, Naples, Crete, Gibraltar Bay, Corinth, Corfu, Isle of Wight, Jamaica, Nagasaki and various bays in Japan, Hong Kong, Canton, various bays in the Chinese seas, Opossum Bay, etc. Also includes paintings of ships and birds, and scenes of naval battles against pirates.