These papers form the surviving archive of the family of Malcolm of Burnfoot near Langholm. They consist principally of letters received by the immediate family circle of Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm (1768-1838): his wife, Clementina Elphinstone, his sisters Agnes, Wilhelmina, Helen, and Stephana, and his son William Elphinstone Malcolm (1817-1907). The letters are almost all from members of the family, but this in no way detracts from the interest of the collection. The careers of Sir James, Sir John, and Sir Charles are detailed here, though very few of Sir John's letters are actually to be found in the collection. Their mother was a Pasley of Craig, and there are many letters in the collection of Sir Charles William Pasley. Sir Pulteney's wife was a daughter of William Fullerton Elphinstone, for many years director of the East India Company, she was a niece of Admiral Lord Keith, and one of her brothers was William G K Elphinstone, commander of the 1841 expedition against the Afghans. Her family's letters are also well represented.

But the richness of the collection lies undoubtedly in the letters of Sir Pulteney. He wrote regularly to his sisters from his earliest days at sea in the 1780s, until within a few days of his death in 1838. He wrote to his wife whom he married in January 1809 on every possible occasion during their long separations, and as his two sons grew up he wrote to them as well, especially after his wife's death in November 1830.

His naval service was extremely interesting and varied; his letters are useful sources of information on Nelson's operations in the Mediterranean, on the blockades of the Basque Roads and Cherbourg, with background information on the court martial of Lord Gambier, on the naval aspects of the Waterloo Campaign, on Napoleon's imprisonment on St Helena, on the diplomatic aftermath of Navarino Bay, on political tensions within the Admiralty, and on many other subjects. With the exception of Codrington, whom he disliked, and the 2nd Earl of Chatham, whom he despised, Malcolm maintained good relations with all his naval and military contemporaries. He was always prepared to see what was good in people, and his views have the appearance of being unbiassed, however clearly they may be expressed.

But Sir Pulteney was a compulsive correspondent, and did not confine himself to a mere detailing of his own activities. His wife was treated to disquisitions on such general topics as naval discipline, the comparative virtues of Nelson and Collingwood as leaders, the advantages of steam navigation, and the advisability of keeping a cow on board ship.

The collection no longer has the letters of Nelson which it must once have contained, nor those of Canning, Sir George Cockburn, Hugh Elliot, Sir Roger Curtis and many others. William IV and Wellington however are still represented in a small way (see Acc.6684/11).

The correspondence of Sir Pulteney's second, but only surviving son William Elphinstone is less interesting, but it does contain a curious collection of letters, circa 1835-40, written by boys of strong religious tendencies whom he had met during his brief naval service, 1831-1833. They give some information on the life of mates and midshipmen at the time, as well as on the difficulties of keeping to their beliefs in the cramped living conditions on the ships.

At the end of the collection are various diaries, estate account books, and genealogical notes, the most important being the diary of William Pulteney, Sir Pulteney's elder son, of his journey from India to Constantinople by way of Persia in 1837. There is also a small group of papers relating to the family of Douglas of Cavers.