The contents are as follows.

(i) Some writings on music by John Davidson and some musical compositions in his hand. (Folio 1.)

(ii) Correspondence of James Scott Skinner. (Folio 12.)

(iii) Musical compositions of James Scott Skinner, [circa 1883-circa 1917], undated, arranged chronologically (folio 51), and, where undated, alphabetically (folio 99). A few are copied in Davidson’s hand but most are in Skinner's autograph. Many are written on scraps of paper (although many appear to be complete) and some may have been intended for publication. A few are written on the backs of covers of published compositions (folios 70, 94-98). There are a few fragments of leaves from other published works (folios 172-177).

The apparently random numbers written in modern ink in the lower left-hand corner of most items have been ignored.

At the end (folio 189) are a number of leaves stitched together containing Scottish dance tunes written in an unidentified hand.

The manuscript is preceded (folio i) by a list of published compositions by James Scott Skinner (many presented to John Davidson) which have been transferred to the Music Division.