The Rebus Valentines sub-subseries consists of printed valentines that contain puzzles or cryptographic messages that the recipient must decipher. This can include messages written in hieroglyphics or hidden in endless knots.

Sub-subseries consists of approximately ten of Dawson's scientific notebooks (box 29). Most are pocket memoranda, but some are more discursive, such as a notebook on Nova Scotia geology and one of geological notes from the 1860s and 1870s. Three scrapbooks bear directly on science: "Scientific Scraps" is largely pictorial material; "Scraps relating to science and religion", despite its title, is mostly Dawson's published articles on geology, education, and travel (boxes 39-40); finally, a scrapbook of clippings programmes and photographs serves as a souvenir of Dawson's presidential meeting of the BAAS in Birmingham, 1886 (box 77).

The Ephemera sub-subseries consists of miscellaneous, non-greeting card items, composed of 5 printed documents and 1 physical object. In it are writers, small pamphlets destined to provide the reader with tips on how to write letters and messages to all sorts of people, as well as greeting card catalogs and press. There is also a wall pocket, presumably used to hold cards, that was equally being sold by wholesalers of greeting cards.

Sub-subseries consists of manuscript essays and addresses on scientific subjects falling into four categories: (1) popular lectures, not only on geology, but also on biology, entomology, physics, archaeology and even linguistics; (2) mining, particularly of Nova Scotia coal, with some reports and maps; (3) geology, largely of Nova Scotia, and (4) palaeontology (approximately 72 cm). Some of the materials in sub-subseries are drafts of works later published, and these papers also contain 80 cm of Dawson's printed books and articles.

The Handmade Valentines sub-subseries is comprised of 131 cards using a variety of craft materials.The Handmade Valentines sub-subseries consists of cards that have been collaged together by someone and include hand-finished details. They are typically made with a melange of lace-paper, embossed paper, cut-out pictures and paper shapes. They might be finished with a hand-written or printed message and might be hand-drawn or at least assembled by hand. The materials used in these handmade valentines are diverse and can include metal trinkets, ribbon, satin, fabrics, artificial or dried flowers, beads, feathers and wire.

The Comic Valentines sub-subseries contains 55 cards printed on cheap paper and are typically hand-coloured. The Comic Valentines sub-subseries consists of single-page greeting cards with woodcut images representing several stereotypes, usually poking fun at someone’s profession or appearance. They typically contain a woodcut caricature of the recipient and a short and usually offensive poem. Comic valentines, sometimes referred to insult valentines or vinegar valentines, were given to either poke fun at a friend or to offend someone who was very disliked. People who received these types of cards rarely kept them, therefore all the comic valentines featured in this series are blank and like stationer’s stock.

The Fold-out Valentines sub-subseries consists of 33 cards that feature some sort of interactive component. This may include flaps that open to reveal hidden messages, or pop-up cards that can be folded out to make a free-standing three-dimensional image.

The Miscellaneous Greeting Cards sub-subseries contains all cards that are not Valentines. They were either found within the same seller’s scrapbooks as the Valentine cards or were found mixed with the fonds, possibly belonging to a same recipient as the some of the Valentine cards. The other greeting cards take various forms and shapes and typically commemorate an important life event.

The Sentimental Valentines sub-subseries consists of cards, handmade or manufactured, in which a long, sentimental poem is the main feature. The cards range in terms of format and style. They may be elaborately decorated by hand with several materials, or simple printed on cardstock. They are usually illustrated with allegorical images or stock illustrations of couples, mythology or landscapes. Some of the cards have handwritten messages professing one’s love for the recipient. They are excellent examples of Victorian sentimentality and 19th century poetic verse.

The Scrapbooks sub-subseries contains a full scrapbook of publisher’s samples, as well as individual scrapbook pages with multiple attached cards that have been extracted from a book. The cards in these scrapbook pages usually include a bulk price per dozen and instructions from the publishers, such as to specify the desired message inside the card. There are some pages that may be from a personal scrapbook as the cards pasted inside it are signed by a sender.