The fonds consists of Newton’s lifelong interest in the life and times of Daniel Defoe, and documents his teaching and research, not his diplomatic career. The bulk of the records consists of research notes, editorial notes and drafts of works about Daniel Defoe. Most important is an unpublished typescript on Defoe’s early career. This appears to have been completed in the 1970’s, and is based on research done in the 1930’s and resumed after Newton’s retirement. There are numerous research notes for this and other work on Defoe and 18th century journalism (1930-1975). Then also included are drafts and typescripts of works by Newton and extensive editorial notes, related correspondence between Newton and Chester N. Greenough relating to the facsimile edition (1930) of Defoe’s Review. In addition, there are Newton’s lecture notes for the courses given at McGill on English literature covering 1650-1900, as well as notes he took while at Harvard. There is a small amount of non-academic material such as articles on McGill sports and transcripts of radio broadcasts by Newton under pseudonym Ted Moorhouse.

The fonds, reflecting his fascination for British writer D.H. Lawrence, comprises mainly of scrapbooks, newspaper clippings (1922-1965), dust-jackets, invoices for books (1931-1964), and draft lecture relating to that topic (1960). In the collection there is also correspondence to MacDermot from Wydham Lewis (1939-1940), schedule of classes at Hotchkiss school (1923), clippings concerning the Black Diaries of Roger Casement (1928-1963) and diverse other works and memorabilia, mainly from Australia, including several small reproductions of works by Australian painters.

The Taylor White Collection is comprised of 938 watercolour paintings of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles. White, a British jurist, commissioned various artists of the day (including Charles Collins, Peter Paillou, Jacob Van Huysum, George Edwards, and Eleazar Albin) to paint these animal portraits from live and dead specimens brought back to England from around the world. Many of the paintings are accompanied by loose-leaf manuscript notes, written mainly by White in Latin, providing further information about the animal; transcriptions and English translations of these notes have been provided within the record for each painting.

The fonds includes 27 drawings (1888-1896) of, notably, a house for George Drummond on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal and the Montreal Diocesan Theological College on University Street are documented in watercolour drawings of plans, elevations, and sections. In addition, there are measured drawings of the Hugh Allan house on Pine Avenue West in Montreal, designed by John William Hopkins (1825-1905) in 1861. These drawings were used for Taylor and Gordon's designs for additions to the Allan house. There is also an undated photograph of a measured drawing of the Hugh Allan house. In addition, there are also drawings by Andrew Taylor for the Montreal Maternity Hospital (Centre Hospitalier Ste-Jeanne-d'Arc), 1903. The fonds contains one published volume: Andrew T. Taylor, "The Crowns and Steeples Designed by Christopher Wren," (London: B.T. Batsford High Holborn, 1881)

The collection consists of 287 negatives, 65 prints and 179 copy negatives from photographer Tappan Adney. The collection documents his passage in the Yukon, Alaska and British Columbia during the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s. The negatives depict various geographic landscapes, people and animals, settlements, and day-to-day mining activities in numerous locations, such as, Dawson, Skagway, Lower Yukon, Bonanza Creek, El Dorado, Chilkoot Trail, Nome, Dyea, Skookumchuck, Hunker Creek, Tagish and Dutch Harbor.

The fonds consists of correspondence regarding John Peters Humphrey and the Humphrey memorial stamp (1995-2004), Tamar Oppenheimer's Columbia M.A. thesis entitled, International Conventions on the Political Rights of Women, 1920-1948, correspondence pertaining to Air and Space Law (1999), as well as correspondence and pamphlets relating to the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (1999), between 1993 and 2004.

Collections consists of theater, music, and dramatic productions, between 1911 and 1915, collected by T. Wesley Mills.

The fonds consists of 1 photograph of Dr. T. F. Cotton, undated; a certificate of admission to membership of the Royal College of Physicians, London, 29 April 1920; a certificate of Fellowship in the R. C. P., London, 14 May 1931; a Honorary D.Sc., McGill, 5 October 1946; a diploma of the Order of the White Lion V class bestowed by the President of the Czechoslovak Republic, 12 January 1948; and covering letter from the Czech Ambassador, 18 October 1948.

Fonds consists of originals and printed materials that fall into the following three series: records of Vaughan’s work at Royal Victoria College, private papers, and literary manuscripts.

Fourteen volumes of her Royal Victoria College day books, spanning the years 1905-1918 and 1928-1937, combine daily memoranda of events at R.V.C. with materials of a more personal nature. In these books she recorded administrative decisions and comments on staff and students and preserved invitations, programmes, newsclippings, some letters, and notes for addresses. A single volume lists students of the College from 1905 to 1907, and records Susan Vaughan's opinions of their characters and prospects.

Her private papers comprise five diaries for the years ca 1899-1904, 1909 and 1930-1940. The earlier volumes record travels to England and Western Canada, and also subsequent volumes record daily activities and thoughts. There is about 1 cm of correspondence, ca 1914-1915, with Clara Lichtenstein and others.

Literary manuscripts, notes for addresses and clippings of some of Susan Vaughan's printed articles amount to about 4 cm, and cover the period ca 1910-1940. Topics include aspects of modern literature - the Brownings, Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, war poetry, and women in fiction -- educational questions, events at R.V.C., and a long poem “A Fable of Earth”.

The fonds documents Canadian poet and novelist Steven Heighton’s literary career through correspondence with writers and editors as well as material documenting his writing activities. The records contain his literary and professional correspondence between 1994-1995 and 2001-2010, including extensive correspndence with correspondents such as Al Purdy, John Metcalfe, David Helwig, Michael Redhill, George Elliott Clarke, and Judith Cowan . There are also notes, manuscripts, research materials, drafts, and reviews for the following works: The address book (2004), “The stages of J. Gordon Whitehead” (short story, 2002), Afterlands (2005), Patient frame (2010), Every lost country (2010), as well as chapbooks, letterpress books, and essays. There are also reviews for other literary works as well as documents relating to Heighton's writer-in-resident positions.