Fonds consists of journal for the year 1800 kept by Thomson on the Mackenzie River (Rocky Mountain).

Etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi printed in Paris between 1800 and 1809. Sixteen plates numbered I-XVI, with the title plate first used in the second edition of 1761 and the two plates added to the second edition, Pl. II “The Man on a Rack,” and plate V, “The Lion-Bas Reliefs” as well as plate XVI, the reworked “Pier with Chains.” All plates with Roman numerals added in the second editions, numbered I-XVI, including the title plate.

Fonds consists of McLeod's journal at Fort Alexander.

Collection consists of 57 illustrations of birds, eggs, snakes, and plants by James Forbes chiefly to illustrate his work "Oriental Memoirs," published in four volumes between 1813 and 1815. The majority of the illustrations are either engraved or hand-drawn and then coloured, and have been cut out and mounted on paper. In many cases, a background has been drawn in and coloured or partially coloured. Approximately thirty of the images depict tropical birds, many from the Indian subcontinent, as well as some from Brazil and Australia. A number of these drawings also feature insects, particularly butterflies, and trees and flowers. Fifteen drawings depict bird eggs, including many of forest birds. The images generally contain captions by Forbes or a contemporary, identifying the subject of the drawing. Some birds are unidentified. Numerous drawings also contain species identifications or annotations in pencil by Henry Mousely, librarian of the Blacker Wood Library at McGill University during the 1920s and 1930s. These drawings are tentatively dated to approximately 1811. A note on one drawing indicates that it was originally based on drawings created during Forbes's voyages during the 1780s, then recopied in 1811. Items 44 through 57 depict snakes and reptiles and are tentatively dated to between approximately 1811 and 1818, based on a small number of drawings which are signed and dated. Many of these drawings of snakes and reptiles feature as plates in Patrick Russell's "A Continuation of an Account of Indian Serpents: Containing Descriptions and Figures, from Specimens and Drawings" (1801).

These are two manuscript copies of Marchetti's translation of Lucretius, Tito Lucrezio della natura delle cose.

The collection consists primarily of manuscripts and typescripts of papers written on natural history topics, such as insects, birds, marine life, plants, and reptiles. Most of the documents concern the collection and cataloguing of specimens, and the identification of new species. Also included are research notes, notebooks, field notes, lecture notes, correspondence, off-prints, proofs, and galley proofs, as well as drawings and mock-ups of illustrations for printing.

The Philippines are the most heavily-represented country in the subject material of the collection, followed by other areas of South-East Asia and the South Pacific, including Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Taiwan, the Soloman Islands, and Hawaii. There is also material representing North and Central America, including Mexico, the United States of America (especially California and Alaska), El Salvador, the Galapagos, and Canada (especially Quebec and Newfoundland). Some works also relate to China, the British Isles, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, and Socotra (Yemen).

Significant figures represented in the collection include: Richard Crittenden McGregor, A.E. Wileman, Edward Charles Stuart Baker, Frank Spaeth, Casey Albert Wood, Averil Lysaght, Harry S. Swarth, Henry Seebohm, Henry George Vennor, Roy E. Dickerson, J. Muir, and Charles Fuller Baker.

Highlights from the collection include: a manuscript copy of Joseph Banks’ journal from his 1768-1771 voyage on the Endeavour, likely made by Maria Dawson Turner; a manuscript, and several annotated typescript versions of Volume 5 of E.C. Stuart Baker’s “Fauna of British India birds”; an assortment of Casey A. Wood’s research notes; annotated proofs, galley proofs, and a mock-up of Richard C. McGregor and Elizabeth J. Marshall’s “Philippine birds for boys and girls;” and a binder of ornithological notes recorded by G.G. Ommanney and others in the Whitlock Bird Sanctuary and surrounding district near Hudson, Quebec.

Many of the manuscripts in the collection were published by the Philippine Journal of Science; also included is correspondence related to publication in the journal, especially related to editing and corrections.

William Badgley's papers form the bulk of the family's papers and consist of a book of legal notes and judgments, 1801-1826; legal commissions, 1823-1866; as well as circulars, petitions and correspondence for the Constitutional Association, 1834-1839. Other papers include family correspondence, 1823-1829, and deeds of sale, 1831-1852, of James Thompson Badgley.

The collection contains 164 botanical and zoological paintings created chiefly by Elizabeth Gwillim as well as possibly by her sister Mary Symonds while living in Chennai, India (then Madras). The collection includes 121 watercolours of birds with inscriptions, 31 watercolours of fish, and twelve of flowers, drawn from life rather than specimens. The paintings reflect the sisters' time in Madras during which, as artists and letter writers, they created a substantial visual record of the landscape and inhabitants of Madras and environs. The paintings also reflect Gwillim's scientific pursuits, including her study of botany.

Hardinge's papers are divided into two series: manuscripts and correspondence. The manuscripts comprise about 550 documents, reports, memoranda, etc. relating to Hardinge's work as a career soldier and administrator. The Indian phase of his career is the least well covered. Many of these documents were written by others, such as the Duke of Wellington or Lord John Russell, though they contain Hardinge's marginal notes. Papers on the British Army cover such topics as religious services for soldiers, 1823-1844; the organization and reform of military supply departments, 1822-1830; an inquiry into British military education, 1822-1829; and the organization of the Medical Department, 1812-1828. Material on the Home Army covers the period 1814-1850 while material on Ireland, 1816-1843, concern not only the militia, but also more wide ranging economic, social and political issues, such as the commutation of tithes. Papers on British North America, 1815-1844, concentrate on defence of the St. Lawrence Valley and the Maritimes, with special emphasis on canals (Rideau, Lachine, Welland). The strength, distribution, health problems and pay of troops in India, 1846-1847; the fortification of Aden, 1825-1847; and military matters pertaining to the West Indies, Bermuda, Australasia, South Africa, Mauritius, China, the Iberian peninsula and the Crimea are also discussed. It should be noted that the Australian papers also contain a considerable body of civilian population statistics. Hardinge's files also contain materials on military finance, particularly army estimates, 1826-1844; half-pay and pensions, 1812-1832; pay and allowances, 1827-1841; and the finances of the War Office, 1803-1847. Finally, a section of miscellaneous papers includes addresses by Hardinge, memorials of civil and military officers, cases of military discipline, proposals for new weaponry, and some documents on the reorganization of the government in 1827. The only items of personal interest concern the duel between Wellington and Lord Winchelsea, in which Hardinge was Wellington's second. The Hardinge correspondence is of much the same character as the manuscripts. It comprises over 2,000 letters, the largest blocks falling in the periods 1828-1831, 1842-1844, and 1852. There is a particularly substantial body of letters from Wellington and Lord Londonderry. Supplementing these papers is a microfilm of Hardinge materials in Cambridge University Library. These place more stress on the Indian period, with a large number of letters from Sir Robert Peel.