The British Museum's collection represents the history of British collecting taste since its founding in 1753. Over this time span, many important collectors have played a pivotal role in the development of the British Museum's South Asian collection. Through various acquisition methods, a number of illustrated manuscripts, albums, and photographical archives have been acquired for the museum's permanent collection. This development has coincides with the growing reference collection in the Department of Asia Library. With changes in collection practices, there is a growing question about the appropriateness of audio-visual and multimedia acquisitions for both the museum and the Department of Asia Library. A select history of the South Asian collection is presented alongside the development of the research collections and exploration into digital repositories.