The contents consist of: (i) letters of various friends and contemporaries of Margaret Oliphant, 1844-1868, undated (folio 1); (ii) letters to Janet M Oliphant 1895-1921, undated (folio 19); (iii) memorandum of agreement with Henry Colburn 1849 and death certificate 1897 of Mrs Oliphant (folio 46); (iv) photographs and other depictions of Margaret Oliphant and her family and other subjects 1851, 1874, undated (folio 50); (v) excerpts in Janet M Oliphant's hand of Margaret Oliphant's ‘Autobiography’ (folio 58); (vi) press-cuttings containing reviews of Margaret Oliphant's books 1869-1882 and obituary notices 1897 (folio 67); (vii) speech by Sir James M Barrie ?1908 for a memorial ceremony to Margaret Oliphant in St Giles's, Edinburgh (folio 104); (viii) papers of Francis W Oliphant 1856, undated, relating to work carried out on stained glass windows (folio 109); (ix) sketches by Francis Tarver 1872, undated, a friend of Margaret Oliphant's (folio 115); (x) papers concerning Thomas Oliphant, wright, Anstruther, 1754, 1762, undated (folio 148); (xi) various papers found elsewhere in the collection 1905, undated (folio 153).