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.

Fonds consists of contemporary manuscript copies of various legal records and instruments relating to the Capacci family. Includes one manuscript written on parchment in pale brown ink, ruled in pale brown ink, and bound in full contemporary blind tooled calf with laid paper endpapers and remnants of ties on covers, as well as a smaller booklet, written on parchment glued into a laid paper wrapper. Documents appear to be dated between 1556 and 1583 and are written in Latin and Italian (sometimes alternating within document). The legal instruments appear chiefly related to the dowry of Orietta Capacci (the dowry is also referenced in an Italian note in a later hand (1650?) inside front cover). Some names found throughout the documents include Orietta Capacci (or Orietta de Capacci) and Annibale (or Anibal) Camillo de Capacci.

Fonds consists of one manuscript album of poetry, belonging to the Marchioness Townshend. Contains various genres of poetry in English, written between 1769 and 1771, including "comic poems on various occasions." Quarto manuscript written on laid paper in a neat scribal hand in brown ink throughout.

Fonds contains the log of the H.M.S. Bellerophon kept during a voyage from Spithead, England, to Italy and the Aegean. Inscription on front flyleaf: "Log of the proceedings of H.M.S. Bellerophon 18 Guns, R. L. Baynes Esq. CB Capt. Commencing October 7th, 1840 and ending April 21st, 1850. Kept by John P. Gardiner, Naval Cadet and Midshipman.

Fonds contains a character sketch in prose of "Aunt Mary." McLeod later published a chapter entitled "Aunt Mary" in his book, "Character Sketches" (New York: Dodd, Mead, & Company, 1876).

Fonds contains bound manuscript entitled "Pictorial stories of the Professions" by Miss M. Sinclair. The manuscript is written in brown ink in a cursive script and illustrated with cuttings from contemporary comic books, some likely hand coloured.

Collection contains two financial documents related to McGill College. The first is a memorandum between the College and its creditors in which the College agrees to pay out dividends and pay in installments towards the balance of the College's debt. It is signed by the individual creditors as well as by the principal of McGill College, Edmund A. Meredith. The memorandum contains a list of creditors of McGill College with their names and occupations listed, including William Lyman, druggist, Robert Abraham, printer, John Keller, merchant, and many others. A note dated 24 March 1847 with a response from representatives of the creditors is pasted on. The second document is a ledger sheet dated from 1844 to 1847 with the caption: "The Directors of McGill College to Joseph Hitchens."

Rexford's papers comprise manuscript and typescript drafts of his High School of Montreal: the development of Secondary Education 1800-1932, ca 1932. For Rexford's collection of background material, see the Special Collection: Protestant Education in Québec.

The fonds consists of records documenting Selwyn Dewdney’s professional activities as a writer, artist, teacher, and student. In addition, there are also records documenting Dewdney’s personal activities. Records related to Dewdney’s professional careers and scholarly pursuits include: printed editions of published articles and books, manuscript drafts, research materials, reviews, essays and speeches, newspaper and magazine clippings, notes, exhibition catalogues, financial records, correspondence, sketches and drawings, notebooks, photographs and plays. The fonds also contains letters, photographs, notes, holiday cards, and invoices related to Dewdney’s personal activities.

Collection consists of an album of travel photographs (chiefly black and white, with some colour). Captions date the photographs to between 1946-1956 and then to between 1989-1994. The captions also include information about the photographs themselves. The first portion of the album contains photographs taken in Niagara Falls, Manitoulin Island, northern Ontario, Bermuda, the Maritime provinces, and the United States, including Howe Caverns, Fort Williams, New York, Yellowstone National Park, Plymouth Rock, Washington, New Orleans, and Mackinac Island, dated between 1946 and 1956. The second portion contains photographs dated from 1898-1994 and documents travel to Israel, Albania, the former Yugoslavia, Russia, Estonia, England, Greece, Costa Rica, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Ukraine. The album is cloth bound in blue with the title "Snaps" in black with painted tulips.