The collection consists of ninety-one albums of postcards and photographs pertaining to views and scenes mainly in British Columbia, but also including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Yukon as well as Europe. The views of British Columbia include views of the Rocky Mountains, Vancouver, Victoria, Mayne Island, and Buttle Lake (pre-1911) as well as those of logging (Capilano Timber Co., 1917-1920), mining (Granby Consolidated Mining, Smelting and Power Co. and Consolidated Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Co.) railways (Canadian Pacific Railway, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway, and Great Northern Railway) and shipping. In addition, there are postcards and photographs of the Hudson's Bay Company Kamchatka Venture, 1921, U.S. Civil War portraits and New Zealand shipping.

The collection consists of letters signed by prominent historical figures including Napoleon I, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, John Jellicoe, Robert Peel, William Pitt, August-Norbert Morin, and the Duke of Wellington.

The fonds consists of correspondence, subject files, financial records, speeches, photographs, notes, and a journal, pertaining to Howay, as well as manuscripts and essays on B.C. history and exploration and marine trade off its coastal waters. In addition, Howay created subject files on historical sites and monuments throughout Western Canada, including Barkerville, the Cariboo, Fort Langley, Cut Knife Hill, Nootka Sound, Fort Steele, and Fort Walsh.

The fonds consists of the personal records of Gilean Douglas which were produced and received during her personal and literary activities . It includes manuscripts of poems, articles, short fiction and books ; material generated and collected by Douglas during her involvement with various organizations ; notes and drafts of various writings ; research materials ; an extensive professional, fan and personal correspondence; financial records ; legal records ; lists and inventories ; records of publication ; clippings. There are journals and engagement books dating from 1911, notebooks and address books, and scrapbooks containing clippings of Douglas' published articles and poems . There are also scrapbooks and correspondence generated by her parents dating back to the 1880s. There is a notable gap in records dating from 1929 to 1932.

Photographic records date from the 1890s to the I990sand include prints, framed portraits, slides, negatives and film strips. A large assortment of photos documents her family and childhood. Douglas started taking photographs as a child. By her early twenties she was an accomplished photographer, using her own pictures to illustrate her writings. Photographs taken by her during the 1920s through the early 1940s are for the most part found in the albums. Pictures taken in the 1950s and 1960s fall into 3 main categories : black & white photos of the B .C. coast taken during her trips on the boats of the Columbia Coast Mission, color and black & white photos of communities in B .C. and eastern Canada taken during her trips for the W.I ., and pictures of Channel Rock . Unfortunately the slides and pictures taken on WI trips are unlabelled and for the most part can only be identified as to general location and date. During the 1970s and 1980s the photographs are almost exclusively of Channel Rock. A representative sample of these is included in this series ; others may be found at the Cortes Museum and Archives.

Aside from Douglas' own photographs, there are several interesting groups of other people's pictures in this collection: an album with pictures of overseas service during World War I, a group of labelled photographs of Baffin Island, Pangirtung, etc. taken in 1926/27 by an RCMP officer, and photographs from a trip around the world on a freighter in 1919.

The records offer insight into Douglas' personal history and literary development . They document, in words and pictures, an unusual and interesting life which began at the turn of the twentieth century.

The fonds consists of correspondence, printed material, video and audio cassettes, photographs, notebooks, diaries and speech material reflecting the political career and personal life of MacInnis.

The fonds consists of photocopied typescripts of Shearer's notes on his travels from Montreal to Europe (1893), Montreal to Agassiz, B.C. (1893-1897) and his ports of call while serving naval duty in the Mediterranean, Red and Black Seas (1899-1903).

The fonds consists of photographs, mainly pertaining to Barclay's activities in China (1900s-1920s), Oregon (1920s), and B.C. (1930s-1950s) as well as related correspondence, memorabilia and clippings.

Fonds consists of over 4,600 photographic prints, negatives, glass lantern slides, and postcards, the majority of which were either taken or collected by Robinson. Many of the photographs relate to Robinson’s work as an Anglican missionary in Japan in the 1890’s through the 1920’s. These photographs document a unique time in the Japan’s history: the Meiji-Taisho period when the country was transitioning away from being a feudal society and beginning to open up to the West. This collection is one of the few comprehensive records of this time period. Subject matter of the photographs includes everyday life, work, and scenery in Japan, as well as the lives and works of missionaries.

Also included in the collection are photographs from Canada and the Robinson family’s travels around the world, as well as reproductions of missionary and religious texts or graphics.

While many of the photographs were taken by Robinson, others were taken by his children, professional photographers, or unidentified individuals.

The fonds also includes 10 maps of Japan used during Robinson’s missionary work, some with annotations of proposed Canadian jurisdictions in Japan.

Fonds consists of Crosse's research notes, journals and annotated photocopies regarding the marine history of British Columbia. This material was primarily generated by Crosse in the course of his research activities from 1985-2006, but the fonds also contains annotated reproductions of numerous rare maps created in the late 1700s. The textual and photographic records have been arranged by Crosse primarily according to the subjects of his research. There are three series of cartographic material which are roughly arranged according to geographical area.
The first accrual relates to Crosse's research into early explorations of British Columbia’s coast. Accrual contains research notes, maps, photographs and correspondence. Two series are accruals to series in the first accession: they are the Manby research material series and the Narvaez research material series. Accrual also contains the Research papers and archival material series, the Miscellaneous research maps and oversized items series and the Panoramic photographs series.
Second and third accruals relate to the late eighteenth century exploration of the coast of British Columbia and the Northwestern United States, as well as information on Imperial Spain, the British Empire, and sailing ships in general. Records incorporated into Narvaez research materials series and research papers and archival material series. New series created include Alaska series, Nootka series, Columbia river exploration series, and correspondence series. Records include photocopies of primary source maps, charts, illustrations, letters, logs, and journals. Materials also include book chapters from secondary source materials, photographs of sailing trips that followed the course of the Narvaez expedition, correspondence with other researchers or persons relevant to Crosse's areas of interest, and charts produced between 1980 and 2000.

The fonds consists of materials generated during the period that the creator visited the B.C. Interior. Fonds includes photographs, sketchbook, and offprint of articles describing the sojourn.