Dorothy Needham had planned for a number of years to write a substantial volume to update her 1932 monograph, 'Biochemistry of Muscle', published by Methuen. In 1954 she was approached by Oxford University Press but declined their invitation to write such a book as ‘I reckon that I have still before me half a dozen years and it is therefore - - - my intention not to begin the writing of this book until toward the end of this period’. In 1955 Cambridge University Press expressed an interest, reiterated in 1962 on the eve of D N’s retirement from active research. She began work on Machina Carnis in 1963. The material listed here includes copies of the book, correspondence with Cambridge University Press and with colleagues, letters of congratulation and appreciation, reviews, royalty statements, promotional material and references.