The series consists of records created in the fulfilment of the Zoological Society’s mandate and goals to host events, trips, speakers, and to donate to and support worthy causes. This includes event and project planning records with related financial documents and reports, guest lists, communications to members, and correspondence. A large part of this series is concerned with the Society’s whale watching excursions and their whale conservation efforts. These files include an annual pamphlet called Whales Alive! = les Baleines!, flyers, newspaper advertisements and published articles, all promoting whale watching field trips. Others include donations, correspondence, and financial documents relating to issues surrounding conservation. Other types of activities covered in this series are field trips (primarily around Quebec but also a few internationally), film screenings (known as theatre nights), art shows, fundraisers and lectures. The field trips and some events of the Society are documented in 5193 photographs stored in 24 photo albums (1989-2009). Apart from events, projects undertaken by the Society are included, such as their efforts to build a wildlife park in Montreal’s West Island, the conservation of owls, lynxes, birds, turtles and flowers, and their wildlife pavilion at Man and His World.
There are large gaps in the Activities series. The Society’s founding project, the Montreal Aquarium and Dolphin Arena, and their proposal for an ark at Expo ’67 are only included briefly in these records. For more information on these projects, see the Administration series files MSG1164.c5.f11, f12, f13. Also, there are few photos documenting the Society’s activities before 1989.

This series consists of personal correspondence between Farkas and other artists/poets. Both electronic and handwritten mail are present in the files.

This series consists of selected editions of literary magazine White Pelican and Maclean's magazine. This series also includes collected poetry which was published by White Pelican. Stephen Scobie was not the creator for the records in this series. The series is mostly located in Container 5 with a file in Container 4.

This series consists of correspondence, notes, copies of research materials, and drafts of typed manuscripts pertaining mainly to Edwards' research in the history of education and personas related to the history of McGill. Topics in education include the history of Educational Psychology in Britain and North America (1994-1995, Box 5 files 79-83) and Normal Schools in the U.S. and Canada (1990-1991, Box 5 files 84, 85 and Box 6 file 102), as well as education in Quebec in general, in the context of Quebec politics and language laws, and at McGill (1968-1975, Box 5 files 84-92; see also Box 6 files 93, 106). Particular attention is paid, in this last group, to the Faculty of Education and the Department of Educational Psychology (1994-1995, Box 5 files 88-92). Among the documents are drafts of article manuscripts on the history of Normal Schools and the Chairs of Education at London and McGill, "Fin de Siecle: And A New Beginning" (1991), a "History of Protestant Teacher Training in the Province of Quebec" (ca. 1978) and "Margaret Thatcher, Thatcherism and Education" (1989) with editors comments (Box 6 files 102, 103). Also included are drafts of chapters (of an untitled book) on the constitutional and educational history of Canada (1979, Box 6 files 100, 101) and copies of Edwards' papers, presented and published (1956-1991 Box 6 files 93-99).

The largest grouping of material on an individual is devoted to Sir William Peterson and associated topics, collected from 1983-1998 (Box 3, file 35 - Box 5, file 78; photo file 109). Included is material on Peterson's own work in classics (1991-1998, Box 3 file 39 - Box 4, file 45) as well as drafts of Edwards' biographies of Peterson, "The Education of a Principal" (1993), "The First Macdonald Professor" as well as other manuscripts (Box 3, files 35-39). Additional areas of focus in this group are the introduction of the Ph.D. in Britain and North America (ca. 1995 Box 4, files 62-62), the granting of honorary degrees (1989-1995 Box 4, file 64-66), the Macdonald Chair of Education (1991-1996) - with special attention to James Alfred Dale (1991-1998 Box 5 files 68-71; photos files 68, 69), and, to a lesser extent, Fred Clarke (1991, Box 5, file 67) - and the University Extension movement (1983-1995 Box 5, files 72-78).

Other major areas of research are the 1854 search for a McGill Principal (1997-1998 Box 3 files 27-34) and David Davidson, the McGill Governor who was charged with filling that position, and on whom Edwards collected extensive biographical and genealogical material (1994-1998 Box 3 files 19-26, 27-34). The process of the search for a Principal is described and documented with the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governors (Box 3 file 29) and biographical information of varying breadth on each of the candidates for the position William Arnold (Box 3 file 30), Daniel Wilson (Box 3, file 31), William Ballantyne Hodgson (Box 3 file 31), Richard T. Pennefather (Box 3, file 32), Henry Burgess (Box 3 files 33, 34 - photo file 34), and William Dawson (Box 3 file 29). There are manuscripts on the Davidsons and McGill in 1854 (Box 3 file 19), as well as wide-ranging background material on the politics and policies of the British government from the mid-18th century to 1854. Typed notes and partial manuscripts relating to this background material include a "Collection of all the Treaties of Peace, Alliance and Commerce between Great Britain and other Powers", notes on the "Seven Years War and Canada", and "[The Duke of]Marlborough" (Box 3 file 27).

Series consists of research files on ancient methods of counting and calculation.

The largest and most comprehensive series is conference papers and lectures with most of the presentations taking place in Canada, Australia and the United States, many with separate speech and shorter slide summaries. The subjects covered include AIDS, medical ethics, and euthanasia, and reflect the range of Somerville’s interest in ethical issues.

This series documents Trigger’s scholarly contributions, in the form of conference papers, publications, reviews, and editorial work for peer-reviewed publications, mainly from his years at McGill University’s Department of Anthropology, 1963-2006. Professional correspondence is also found within these files, which are arranged by date of conference or publication date. These files demonstrate Trigger’s prolific publication output, his correspondence with an extensive network of colleagues in the international
research community, as well as the diversity of his research interests, ranging from indigenous cultures to ancient civilizations.

Files relating to conferences and symposia, as well as reviews, articles, and books provide insight into Trigger’s approaches to organizing his research, some of the major contributions he made to the field, as well as his role as a much sought after lecturer. Record types include correspondence, conference proceedings, manuscripts, articles, reprints, editorial guidelines, drafts, and lecture notes, 1949-2006 (Container 1, Files 1- 43; 44-134; Container 3, Files 135-206; Container 4, Files 209-278; Container 6, Files
290-296; 298-308; 311-312, 316, 320, 335-336; Container 7, Files 337-349, 351-361, 363-404; Container 8, Files 420, 422-424; Container 9, Files 430-484; Container 11, Files 524-537; Container 12, Files 561-564; Container 14, Files 573-578, 580, 586-588, 599; Container 15, Files 602-604, 619-620; Container 16, Files 641-642, 645-646; Container 17, Files 647-659, 661, 664-674, 676-723). These files document Trigger’s passion for archaeology, his efforts to stay current in terms of the literature in the field, and his respected position in the international arena. For example, Trigger was the editor of Volume I of the prestigious Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas. Artwork for this volume, as well as book reviews, reveal Trigger’s level of involvement with the project, 2003 (Container 14, File 598). Conferences of note include the Seagram Lectures I and II at the University of Toronto (1986) where Trigger delivered a paper entitled “The Historian’s Indian: Native Americans in Canadian Historical Writing from Charlevoix to the Present”, 1989-1997, 1985-1986 (Container 1, Files 41, 42), and the Fourth Gordon Childe Memorial Lecture at the Institute of Archaeology, the University of London (1982). Trigger’s lecture, entitled “If Childe were Alive Today”, 1981-1983 (Container 3, File 175) is a fine example of his long standing research interest in V. Gordon Childe and Childe’s contributions to archaeological theory and his relationship to Soviet/ Marxist archaeology, 1977-1986 (Container 3, Files 142-143, 174-175.

Materials relating to Trigger’s books include drafts of published and unpublished manuscripts, research notes, reviews, and correspondence with colleagues and publishers, as well as translations of these works into numerous languages, 1990-2004 (Container 1, Files 19, 20; Container 3, File 192; Container 6, Files 294, 311; Container 15, File 621-622; Container 7, File 372; Container 9, Files 482-483). Records pertaining to Trigger’s seminal texts contain complete drafts, manuscript notes, correspondence, and publication information. For example, The Children of Aataentsic, 1975-2002 (Container 2, Files 95-96; Container 3, File 196; Container 7, File 342 ; Container 9, File 434, Container 14, File 579; Container 17, File 662, 663, 675, 710, 718 ); Understanding Early Civilizations, 1995-2005 (Container 6, File 295; Container 11, Files 525-537; 6 Container 15, File 618), and A History of Archaeological Thought, 1989-2004 (Container 6, File 301; Container 7, File 340, 371; Container 9, File 460) are comprehensive in this regard. In particular, A History of Archaeological Thought, which also includes notes for the revised edition, 1991-2002 (Container 11, Files 524), as well as correspondence with Cambridge University Press regarding the index for the book, demonstrate the writing, editorial, and publication processes from the perspective of an academic in a comprehensive manner, 1989-2004 (Container 15, Files 614-1-617, 623-626).

A comprehensive list of Trigger’s publications is available in the accession file.

Series consists chiefly of 38 manuscripts related to the North West Company. Among the Masson manuscripts there are other series of letters; as well as journals kept by North-Westers and various business documents. Some of this material exists as originals; others are contemporary copies - the George Keith letters for example are contemporary copies on paper watermarked 1827. The collection also includes some duplicate texts - contemporary copies or later nineteenth-century copies that in some cases represent edited versions of the texts. Samuel Wilcocke's account of the death of Benjamin Frobisher exists in a draft original (or contemporary copy) and in a late nineteenth-century clean copy. Of course Benjamin Frobisher did not die in the dramatic circumstances as recorded by Wilcocke, but peacefully in Quebec City in 1821.