These papers comprise office files for the Parks and Playgrounds Association from 1902 to 1972, and for the Community Garden League from 1933 to 1959. The records of the Parks and Playgrounds Association include administrative and financial records, scrapbooks, photographs, public relations material and information files. Administrative records consist of general and committee minutes, 1902-1972, annual reports, 1902-1964, personnel files, 1937-1947, files of correspondence and memoranda on individual sites as well as themes, e.g. water pollution, 1906-1972; and various surveys and studies, 1912-1967. Financial operations are documented by budgets, 1960-1971, financial statements, 1948-1967; ledger sheets, 1951-1961; and invoices, 1939-1957, 1967. Scrapbooks of newsclippings cover the periods 1902-1904, 1916-1932, 1935-1937, 1939, and 1949-1964; some scrapbooks are thematic, e.g. one on the Mount Royal tram line. Over 1,000 photographs taken ca 1906-ca 1960 show parks, playgrounds, landmarks, street scenes, recreation activities, and the work of the Association. Public relations files, 1937-1952, 1955-1962, contain press releases, briefs, petitions, legislative bills, and correspondence related to lobbying and public awareness. Information files contain largely printed material on parks and recreation in Canada and the United States, 1935-1968. Administrative records of the Community Garden League include minutes of its general committee, 1934-1952; annual reports, 1933-1959; correspondence and information files (1938-1949), and notices, 1938-1953, 1959.

Fonds contain the personal and professional dealings of the Papineau Family, beginning with Louis-Joseph Papineau in 1828, following through his descendents, to 1943. Dealings include land grants, social events, real estate, interpersonal and business related financial notices, notes on construction projects supervised by or funded by the Papineau family, and charitable pursuits.
The fonds consists of the following series: Legal, Business, and Financial Documents, Ledgers, Account Books, and Notes, Correspondence & Personal Papers, Genealogical Materials. Majority of the files are titled according to creator rather than content and series are contained within chronological boxes (with the exception of container number 9 belonging to the Legal, Business, and Financial Documents series alongside container number 1 and container number 2).
These materials were created for the purpose of keeping track of the interpersonal and business transactions of the Papineau family.

The fonds consists of manuscripts and drafts of literary compositions and other working documents, as well as professional and personal correspondence.

Fonds contains mainly J.E. Buchanan's correspondence, notably his correspondence with Phyllis Buchanan prior to their marriage, newspaper clippings, agendas and administrative paperwork concerning Phyllis Buchanan and her family, with material related for the First World War and children education in the first half of the 20th century.

A collection of documents from the life of Simon McTavish including a letter to his creditors and a series of legal opinions on the estate of Simon and William McGillivray. Documents' informational value is largely financial in nature.