Fonds consists of a one document, a manuscript of reminiscences of Charles James, born in Montreal in 1835. The document is internally dated in April 1915. James describes his childhood as the son of a carriage and sleigh builder born in England who conducted much business for the British military stationed in Montreal. The family resided on Craig Street. Reminiscences include descriptions of Montreal, the building of the locks on the Lachine canal, a trip up the Ottawa River to Bytown (Ottawa) and then to Kingston, where the family resided for a time. James joined his father in the trade of carriage trimming as a young man before becoming a Baptist minister in Stratford, Canada, and later Wellesley.

The fonds documents John Mappin’s occupation as an independent antiquarian book seller, his personal interest in the history of print and Canadian politics, and his personal achievements as an author. The wide variety of subject files found in this collection are almost entirely North American based and span from 1733-2004. These records reflect Mappin’s particular focus on Canadian authors and Canadiana in general.

The collection consists of ephemera, artifacts, and publications related chiefly to the Expo 67 World Fair in Montreal and some documents relating to its continuation, Man and His World (Terre des Hommes), an exhibition that was the successor to Expo 67. Many of the records and artifacts were produced by participant countries and sponsors or by the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition. Ephemera includes postcards, visitor passports, and ticket stubs, while other textual documents include guidebooks, magazines, catalogues, books, clippings, information manuals, and some unpublished planning documents. Artifacts include license plates, vinyl records, letter opener, bottle caps, shopping bags, and pins. The collection features pamphlets and brochures for numerous pavilions, events, services, and countries featured, as well as many maps for the Expo 67 grounds and documents related to subsequent seasons of Man and His World.

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.

This material comprises a group of official documents, and correspondence among various partners. The official documents include four articles of agreement for partnership between various Montréal companies, largely with McTavish, Frobisher and Co., 1790-1802, and a memorandum on the effect of exchange differences on the partners' shares (approximately 1826). The partners' correspondence, approximately 1792-1808, contains letters from Simon McTavish, Isaac Todd, and Alexander Mackenzie concerning provisions, business agreements and loans. A letter from William McGillivray to Mr Justice Reid discusses family matters. One financial ledger for the North West Company contains business accounts and records transactions. The bulk of entries are dated from January 1810 to November 1825, with some entries dated 1861.

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.

Collection consists of one bound manuscript notebook softbound in a piece of brown leather. The notebook dates chiefly from 1841 and was produced in St. Armand by Philip Luke. The notebook contains a title page that has been lettered, illustrated, and coloured by hand: A Latin Translation / by Philip Luke. St. Armand. 1841. Commenced April 4th. The text within this first portion of the notebook is Aesop's Fables in English and Latin on facing pages. The first part of the manuscript ends with "13. Horse and Ass" (Latin is incomplete) and "32. Widow and Servants" (Latin text missing). The following leaf contains two medical recipes: "A cure for a felon or whitlow," refering to an abscess or infection of the fingertip and consisting of a paste made from egg yolk, honey, turpentine spirits, camphor, and flour, and "A reciet for the inflammatory rheumatism," involving a wine-based tonic containing three types of bark, horseradish, brandy, and tar water. Following another blank leaf, a partial letter is found dated 1839. Philip Luke's text begins again in the latter part of the manuscript with a second coloured title page: "Dialogues and Declamations." There is also one loose note laid in dated 1809, a receipt for 100$.

The collection consists of 10 ink manuscript maps and plans on paper, some hand-coloured, depicting the earliest settlements and fortifications at Montreal and Quebec City. The earliest dated document is a plan of the fort of Quebec and is dated 1635. The earliest document in the collection depicting Montreal is believed to date back to 1642. The maps and plans were prepared by Jean Bourdon, seigneur and surveyor for the French colony. Included in the collection is a plan of the earliest Fort Richelieu of which nothing had previously been known. There are also detail drawings of riverside fortifications, probably near Montreal.