The collection consists of Edith Smellie's diary, a photograph, and notebook "Visiting List." The first section of her diary recounts a trip from Brockville, Ontario, to New York from October 2-10, 1888. She and her companions left Brockville by steamboat and transferred to rail at Morristown. The diary details visiting Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as Macy's and other stores. The final pages of the diary contain calculations and a short list of purchases, including boots, shoes, paints, and collars. A few pages in the diary begin to recount a second trip in 1889, as well as some poems. In addition to the diary is a sepia cabinet portrait by Sheldon & Davis, Kingston. The visiting list contains numbered entries of visitors for 1897, 1898, and 1899. There are also some addresses.

The Julius Schloss Collection consists of Julius Schloss’s complete portfolio of published and unpublished compositions, sketches, studies and analyses. In addition, it contains documentary artefacts, including correspondence, newspaper, magazine and journal clippings, concert and competition programs, media reviews, and photographs, that chronicle both the early life of this German-Jewish composer in Europe and his later days in exile in Shanghai and the United States.
The content of the collection pertains to several lines of historical research: First, Schloss’s close relationship with Alban Berg as a personal assistant and chief copy editor, as well as his interaction with other contemporaries in Vienna during the 1920s, may offer new insight in studies of the Second Viennese School. The items of Bergiana, including a handwritten Baudelaire poem by Berg which served as a “secret program” to the Lyric Suite and a selection of correspondence surrounding Berg’s last wishes for the Lyric Suite score, are particularly valuable. Second, Schloss’s ten-year exile in Shanghai, documented in assorted correspondence, programs, reviews and miscellaneous artefacts, may provide a new account of the Shanghai generation. Finally, the continuation of Schloss’s life in the United States as a struggling composer and teacher bears witness to the difficult conditions for the American émigré population after World War II.

The collection consists of 92 black and white photographs, mounted on black paper, depicting the construction of the dry dock in Lauzon, Quebec, from 1917 to 1923. It also includes a diary written by Ford Cushing Smith in 1922, which details activities related to the dry dock at Lauzon, and an accompanying typewritten letter from I. D. Macorquodale, Eng., explaining the donation in detail.

The James Morrison papers are a collection of documents chiefly related to James Morrison's activities as a trader and merchant in Montreal. The papers also include some material related to Morrison's family, including legal documents and genealogical research conducted by his descendents. The documents in the James Morrison papers cover a period beginning 18 September 1651 and ending in approximately 1912, but focusing primarily on 1767 through 1800. The fonds represents Morrison's business dealings in Quebec, Ontario, the northern United States, and England, as well as his family life in Montreal and connections with relatives in Baltimore, Ontario, and Jamaica.

The papers are arranged into three series: 1 - Journals, 2 - Correspondence, and 3 - Financial and legal records. Documents in these series include a bound journal, correspondence, contracts, deeds of ownership, power of attorney, birth and marriage certificates, bills of sale, invoices, accounts, descriptions of political and military events, and genealogical notes.

The collection consists of two letters written by Henry F. Perley, the Chief Engineer of Public Works, on January 18, 1886, and January 28, 1886, in Ottawa, addressed to Antoine Gobeil, Esq., Deputy Minister of Public Works of the Dominion of Canada. The first letter details the findings of an examination conducted by Perley on the ongoing construction of the Graving Dock at Esquimalt, B.C. The second letter informs Gobeil of the Hon. Minister's approval of the report.

The collection consists of a copy of Dr. Chakravarty's speech delivered in Montreal on May 21, 1951, regarding the donation of Tagore's manuscripts; a holograph poem titled "Victim," a holograph essay on humanity and civilization by Tagore; and a black and white photograph of Tagore (29 x 23 cm). It also includes a letter from F. Cyril James, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill, addressed to Richard Pennington, the University Librarian. The letter, dated June 7th, 1951, announces the presentation of these manuscripts to McGill University by the High Commissioner for India and Dr. Chakravarty from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.

The collection consists of three copies of the pamphlet from the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting held in Montreal from August 27th to September 3rd, 1884, titled "Enquiries Respecting Public Education," and one copy of the Programme of Studies for the Protestant Public Schools in the Cities and towns of Manitoba. The collection includes three handwritten papers titled "Education in the Province of Manitoba," "Education in New Brunswick," and "Education in the Province of Nova Scotia." These papers contain replies to the queries in the pamphlet.

The collection consists of a German typescript titled "The Statischen Verhaeltnisse von Tragwerken," written in 1942, along with its English translation, "The Statical Conditions of Structures and the Methods of the Statical Calculation of Structures," completed in 1943. Both versions contain five foldable pages of illustrations.

Contains scores and parts housed in the Performance Library, including chamber music, music for orchestra, and band and choir music, to support the performing ensemble credit courses given at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University.

The Gertrude Whitley Performance Library holds more than 5,000 titles of scores and parts for ensembles of 3 players or more and over 1,000 jazz charts. The collection reflects the ensemble credit courses given here at the Schulich School of Music, i.e. orchestra, baroque orchestra, wind symphony, choir, jazz orchestra, contemporary music ensemble, percussion ensemble, brass choir, and various smaller chamber ensembles such as string quartets, woodwind quintets, brass quintets, etc. In addition, the Library houses the Carl Friberg Collection (band music) and part of the Bruce Bower Gift Collection (bassoon music). However, there is no solo or duet music. In fall 2005, the Library was named the Gertrude Whitley Performance Library, in recognition of the generous philanthropic gift from the Whitley Foundation in the creation of the new facilities for the Performance Library in the new music building.

Manuscript is a typewritten preface with handwritten corrections for the book "In Gipsy Camp and Royal Palace; Wanderings in Rumania" (1924), by Emil Otto Hoppé. It is signed by Marie, Queen, consort of Ferdinand I, King of Romania, 1875-1938.