Fonds consists of materials documenting the life and career of William Rose, and includes correspondence (1905-1967), diaries (1895-1939), drafts of manuscripts, articles, translations, poetry, lecture notes, published materials (including clippings), offprints, and photographs. Among these are several pieces written under his pseudonym Jan Rozycki. The records are arranged in the following series: Correspondence, Published Works, Reports, Notes, Notebooks, Diaries, Manuscripts, Translations, Reviews, Publications About Rose, Works by Others, Rose Family Records, and Photographs.

Fonds consists of textual records, and includes written notes and typed transcripts from interviews conducted by William Willmott and two research assistants. Interviews were conducted with Jack Yee and Seto Yingshek, and with relatives and friends of H.Y. Louie. Also included is related correspondence, a membership register of a small Chinese association (written in Chinese), and a small notebook (contents written in Chinese).