The fonds consist of photographs depicting life in Chesterfield's postings within the Hudson Bay district, such as Moose Factory, Fort George, Great Whale River, and Rigolet on the Labrador coast. Included also are images depicting Montreal buildings, agricultural scenes from the area, various public events which took place, such as government announcements. There are photographs of the Ile d'Orléans, where Chesterfield felt there had been a return to "simpler" times. Also he took various photographs of tourist attractions around Canada, such as Hamilton Falls, Ontario and Montreal winter scenes, and images of maple syrup being made. There are also some selected images he took while he worked as a general press photographer of important events, such as the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada in 1923. Included in the collection are [portrait] photographs of Inuit and Cree, he took these as both an observer of tradition and as fur trapper. In one of his albums there are images of Canadians preparing for WWI featuring various government officials, and many different battalions from Ontario and Montreal. There are also photographs of Mr. Chesterfield himself. The fonds also contain manuscripts written himself describing life as a fur trader, the various cultures he encountered and his interactions with different peoples as well as his opinions of them, and personal comments and descriptions of some of his photographs.

The fonds consists of materials created by the various members of the group, and by the group as a whole. The records not only reflect the working process, but also the marketing and promotion involved in the projects. Almost all of their projects are represented here, with various degrees of completeness.

For works such as Adoption/Qumiktut/Unakuluk, Anaana and Uyarasuk/Ningiura (My Grandmother) there is a complete range of materials from daily scene shoots to multiple language versions of the final work. Many of the films are produced in English, French and Inuktitut. Some early works such as Atagutaluk Starvation, Qulliq, Piujuq and Angutautuq, Avingalaraaluit/Unikausiq, Aqtuqsi: the nightmare, and Travellers are only represented with sub-masters or masters with very little additional audio-visual material relating to, or revealing of, the process of production.

Other projects such as Beyond Tomorrow/Ikuma are represented through versions of the film in various languages, filmed or recorded interviews with participants and writers, and scripts in English, French and Inuktitut. There is also a fair amount of post production material such as workshops that grew out of this project.

The Frank G. Speck Papers consist of 15.5 linear feet of professional correspondence, field notes, lecture notes, and manuscripts of published and unpublished works. The material focuses on the Eastern Woodlands Indigenous nations, particularly the Catawba, Cherokee, Creek, Delaware, Houma, Iroquois, Labrador Inuit, Mantagnais-Naskapi, Nanticoke, Penobscot, Powhatan, Algonkian, and Yuchi. The collection is divided into two subcollections: Subcollection 1 is comprised of Speck's research material and correspondence, and Subcollection 2 consists of his manuscripts and related correspondence. The two subcollections were acquired separately by the Society, and were originally cataloged as the Frank G. Speck Papers (572.97 Sp3) and the Frank G. Speck Manuscripts on Native Americans (970.3 Sp3p) respectively. Subcollection I is divided into two series. Series I came to the Library shortly after Speck's death in 1950 from Mrs. Frank G. Speck (with later additions from William N. Fenton and John Witthoft). Ninety-five percent of the material relates to North American tribes east of the Mississippi. The material was arranged by Anthony F. C. Wallace, and described in "The Frank G. Speck Collection" in The Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (Vol. 95, pp. 286-89). According to Wallace, the Speck collection is an important ethnographic source material to those working on Eastern Woodlands Indigenous cultures since it constitutes a valuable body of unpublished data. In addition, the collection documents a significant chapter in the history of American science. As an early student of Franz Boas, Speck's work represents the first generation of American ethnographers to pursue the kind of research Boas encouraged and taught (a patient, detailed description of a primitive culture based on long and intimate residence with the community). Of particular interest are Speck's Columbia lecture notes from classes he took with Boas. Speck's field notes further indicate his method of study, in which casualness was itself unconsciously a technique for creating "rapport." Speck scribbled information on envelopes, scraps of paper, road maps, and old letters - in addition to ledger books and tablets. When it came to organize the material, Wallace found the classification and ordering of the material to be "somewhat difficult." The collection could not be organized chronologically since Speck collected material over long periods of time prior to publication and did not date the material. It was also not feasible to organize the collection based on whether the notes were published or unpublished as it was not uncommon for Speck to have both types of information on opposite sides of the same piece of paper. Wallace concluded that a researcher consulting the Speck papers would be interested in a particular area or tribe, and would be familiar with the printed material on the subject. It was therefore decided to organize the material according to culture area, tribe, and community. The majority of this material has been described in John Freeman and Murphy Smith's Guide to Manuscripts Relating to the American Indian (1966) and Daythal Kendall's Supplement to Guide to Manuscripts Relating to the American Indian (1982). With the prominence of these two publications, it was decided to keep the initial organization and folder identification numbers of the collection when it was recataloged. Item descriptions from the Freeman/Smith and Kendall guides are designated with F&S and the entry number from the guide. Series II of Subcollection I was initially labeled as biographical material, and organized separately in six boxes. This material arrived at the APS after Wallace had completed his organization in the 1950s. The series is predominantly correspondence to and from Speck regarding research topics, as well as other professional matters. When the collection was recataloged it was decided to reorganize it alphabetically by correspondent. Some of the items have been described in the Freeman/Smith and Kendall guides, the remainder were described when the collection was reprocessed. Subcollection II was a gift of Mrs. Frank G. Speck, and initially housed at the Delaware County Institute of Science. The collection was eventually transferred to the Society in several accessions between 1971 and 1993, and processed in 1996 by Miriam B. Spectre and Timothy T. Wilson on a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The collection is arranged in four series: correspondence, works by Speck, field notes, and photographs. Series II: Works by Speck, constitute the bulk of the material. At 4.5 linear feet, the series contains manuscript and typescript drafts, galley proofs, and page proofs of published and unpublished articles, reviews and books by Speck. The folders are arranged by title, with reviews being entered under the title of the book or article which is the subject. Series I: Correspondence contains four letters relating to publications by Speck, research material, Indigenous specimens, and Linton Satterthwait's summer research with John Alden Mason. Series III: Field Notes is one folder of undated material labeled "Delaware Social Dance Bustle", and Series IV contains four folders of photographs that appear to have been published by Speck.

The fonds consists of correspondence, militia papers, accounts, receipts and miscellaneous documents. The bulk of the correspondence is from when Stone was most active as a Militia officer. There are several general orders relating to such things as services rendered by Indigenous warriors, claims for pay and land grants. Among the miscellaneous papers is an indenture of election executed by Stone as returning officer for Leeds County.