The fonds contains chiefly of family correspondence between members of the Penfield and Chester families, as well as clippings and correspondence regarding Wilder Penfield's autobiography "No Man Alone" and correspondence regarding posthumous honours for Wilder Penfield. Family correspondence includes a 1917 letter from Helen Kermott (later Helen Kermott Penfield) accepting Wilder Penfield's marriage proposal. Much of the family correspondence is between Wilder and Helen Penfield and their daughter Priscilla and her husband William M. (Bill) Chester Jr., as well as Bill Chester's parents William (Sr.) and Alice Chester. There are incoming letters and many carbon copies of outgoing letters. A series of 1949 letters congratulates the young couple (Bill Chester and Priscilla Penfield) on their engagement. One letter is also between Wilder Penfield and George Chester. A few materials are related to posthumous honours for Wilder Penfield, such as the naming of a building after him at John Abbott College (letter to Wilder Penfield Jr.) and a 1982 speech given by Priscilla at the Penfield Children's Center (typescript copy). There is also correspondence between Bill Chester and William Feindel. One 1976 carbon copy of a letter (1976) details the period following the death of Priscilla's father, Wilder Penfield, while the couple was in Japan. Materials related to "No Man Alone" include clippings from journals and newspapers of reviews and book announcements, as well as two copies of the book jacket and some related correspondence.
The fonds contains original and typescript letters, manuscript notes, newspaper clippings, journal extracts, reminiscences and more, assembled by Harvey Cushing chiefly between 1920 and 1924 during the course of his research for the biography of William Osler. For the biography, Cushing collected and retyped over 7500 pieces of Osler's correspondence, among which are some original letters.
The fonds is separated into three series: Manuscripts, Working Notes and Osler's Correspondence. It also contains photographs, annual reports, publications, clippings, one watercolor painting, one postcard. Osler's correspondence is further arranged in three subseries based chronologically.
Collection shows Dr. J.C. Simpson's interest in Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882). His collection of Darwiniana contains newspaper clippings, dinner programs and menus, programs of commemoration of the Darwin Centenary in England, correspondence and photographs.
The fonds consists of books, letters, documents, drafts, publications, photographs, and several artifacts collected by W. W. Francis and Marian Francis Kelen over the course of their lifetimes. Many books and documents relate to Sir William Osler and the Osler family including several personal letters, the Deed of Trust documents regarding the Bibliotheca Osleriana, drafts of Osler's works, and a wooden travelling trunk that belonged to Edward Revere Osler. The fonds also includes original poetry written by Marian Osborne, W. W. Francis, and Marian Francis Kelen.
File consists chiefly of letters, receipts, customs documents, and other materials related to a patient's procurement of the disproven cancer drug Krebiozen from 1960 to1961. Also contains clippings and articles about Krebiozen, which was introduced in the 1950s and proven to be fraudulent as a treatment in the early 1960s. Includes correspondence with the Krebiozen Research Foundation and Stevan Durovic, one of the perpetrators of the Krebiozen fraud. Also contains a publication entitled "The dangers of radiation," produced by the Independent Cancer Research Foundation. One additional letter dated 1958 is from the Chairman of the "Committee for a Fair Test of Krebiozen."
The fonds contains correspondence related to the Osler Library and its holdings with people such as Maude Abbott, Edward Archibald, William B. Bean, Edward Horton Bensley, Archibald Malloch, Casey Wood, as well as John Farquhar Fulton, Keeper of the Medical History Collections at Yale University's library; the fonds also contains a typescript of talks by W.W. Francis (titled "Showman's Patter") about books and other items held in the Osler Library.
The fonds consists chiefly of student notebooks kept by F. Clarke Fraser while an undergraduate at Acadia University during the late 1930s-1940. They represent a variety of subjects, including zoology, physics, mathematics, and biology. Two notebooks date from his Med IV year (1949-1950) at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine, one with ophthalmology lab and clinical notes and reading and lecture notes, and one an obstetrical diary from the Montreal Maternity Hospital. Also included is a later reprint of an article (published 1957), loose notes, and a photograph of F. Clarke Fraser and a companion dining at the Montreal restaurant Au lutin qui bouffe, famous for its resident piglet, which restaurant-goers were often photographed holding and feeding.
The collection consists of documents pertaining to Dr. H. S. Birkett's medical activities, including 117 bound volumes of patient records (1889-1942), medical notebooks (1893-1896), bound RVH reports (1894-1938), RVH charts (1901-1920) and registers (1899-1917). There are also various letters addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Birkett, a manuscript, newspaper clippings, various degrees and medical association certificates, as well as photographs of H. S. Birkett's personal life and professional life at McGill and elsewhere. The collection also includes various artifacts collected by H. S. B, including military and medical memorabilia collected by H. S. Birkett.