The papers here relate to James Guild (1774-1839) and his descendants.

There is a wealth of correspondence among members of the family across generations. The first series of correspondence has a particular focus on the son, also James Guild (1810-1893), grandson, James Lyon Guild (1852-1925) and great-granddaughter, Agatha Mary Guild (1896-1980) of the elder James Guild.

The second series of correspondence is between James Harrower [Harry] Guild (1872-1951) and Marion [May] Lyon Guild (1880-1967), who were distant cousins and married in 1906.

The final series of correspondence relates to Janet [Jenny] Turner Richmond, née Guild, (1876-1949) and there are many letters between her and her sons, George Harrower Taylor Guild (1907-1992) and William Percy Lyon Guild (1910-1931).

In addition to the family correspondence, there are copy letter books relating to the business activities of members of the Guild family. The first dates to the 1830s and covers a period when James Guild (1810-1893) was trying to establish himself in a distillery business in Islay and then his business ventures in Canada. The other three copy letter books relate to James Lyon Guild (1852-1925) and the Thornbush brewery in Inverness.

The final series consists of two volumes that were created by Robert Hamish Wyllie Galbraith. They contain transcriptions of much of the correspondence in the previous series, illustrated with images of the letters and family photographs.