The fonds consists of Scobie’s personal records relating to his career as a prominent author, poet and critic in Canada between 1966 and 1989. The bulk of the records consists of his written materials; manuscripts and drafts of published and unpublished poetry, novels, short stories, critical writings, including annotated drafts of his books on bpNichol and Leonard Cohen, as well as various notes, both typed and handwritten, unproduced film scripts and a libretto. The files also include some peripheral and administrative documents relating to his publications, such as book sales receipts, royalty agreements, and reviews, as well as promotional materials relating to lectures, poetry readings and other events. Other materials include correspondence between Scobie and friends, publishers, and other organizations and individuals, as well as selected editions of White Pelican, a literary journal that Scobie edited, from 1971-1973.

Fonds documents Michel Brisebois's work as a rare books curator and librarian, and antiquarian bookseller. The records include extensive correspondence from approximately 1966 to 1994 (textual and on diskette), as well as evaluations of libraries and archives including the Archives nationales du Québec, the McCord Musum, the McGill University Libraries, the Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal, and others. The fonds also contains Brisebois's agenda books, catalogues, and financial records, as well as documents relating to the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of Canada.

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.

The Tundra Books fonds contains a collection of archival records documenting Tundra's publishing history. It includes correspondence with Tundra authors and artists, most notably with William Kurelek. Parts of the archival material document the development and production of each title and May Cutler's dealings with government and funding agencies. The archival materials document a significant chapter in Canadian post-war publishing history.

Contains copies of fur trade documents bearing on the Mandan-Hidatsa trade with North West Company posts in central Canada, 1793-1805. Includes the journals of John Macdonell (McGill), David Thompson (Archives of Ontario), François-Antoine Larocque (LAC & Université de Montréal, Baby Collection. Draft before publication of: Early fur trade on the Northern Plains: Canadian traders among the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians, 1738-1818 : the narratives of John Macdonell, David Thompson, Franc̦ois-Antoine Larocque, and Charles McKenzie / edited and with an introduction by W. Raymond Wood and Thomas D. Thiessen. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, c1985.

The F.R. Scott Collection contains documents pertaining to many differents aspects of F.R. Scott's life and career. His early political involvement in CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, the political party at the origin of the creation of the federal New Democratic Party [NDP]) constitutes one series; his interest in poetry another one. Also some important legal actions are documented here about language and education rights in Quebec schools. The last series contains more personal items probably gathered for an official commemorative service: tributes, press clippings. Includes F.R. Scott's passport for Montreal's Expo 1967.

The collection consists of four early Irish manuscripts assembled by the Montreal collector Edward Murphy as part of his private library. The manuscripts include a copy of The Midnight Court (Cúirt an mheán oíche) by Brian Merriman, the Life of St. Patrick by John Chambers, Tri Biorghaoithe an Bhais (Three shafts of death) by Geoffrey Keating, and a fragment of an Irish vocabulary (Nuadhfoclóir bogcruaideach).

Affidavit concerning Bown’s controversy with the Hudson’s Bay Company over the printing by the Nor’-Wester of a petition on memorial dealing with imprisonment of Dr. John Schultz. It is dated 10 July 1868 at St. Cloud Minn. Note: Part of Exhibit A, and all of Exhibits B, C, & D are missing.

Letters and papers relating to employment with the Hudson’s Bay Company. These include letters of appointment, official announcements, lists of officers of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and an inventory the posts and officers in the Albany River district.

The collection was assembled by the Rare Book Department at McGill to group a number of anonymous poetry collections and verse miscellanies dating from roughly the long eighteenth century. These include: a volume written around 1700 containing Milton's Comus and other poems, largely elegiac; a group of 38 original poems from 1774; satires of Cambridge personalities by an undergraduate (1795-1800); a volume of poems bound in vellum written in various hands by George Colin Campbell, Miss Flaxman, Mrs. A. M. Keith, Bernard Bolton, George Tucker and others, with sketches (1817); and Lady Murray's poetry commonplace-book (approximately 1820) containing poems by celebrated authors and some original pieces.