Consists of materials created by and related to John James Audubon (1785-1851) that were collected from various sources. These include original manuscripts and correspondence, photostat copies and transcripts of additional manuscripts and correspondence, printed materials relating to Audubon's life and work, and files pertaining to a 1959 Princeton University Library exhibition titled "The World of John James Audubon." Much of this material was assembled by Dr. Howard C. Rice, Jr., former head of Special Collections at Princeton University Library.

Original Audubon manuscripts include several descriptions used in his Ornithological Biography (Edinburgh: A. Black, 1831-1839); manuscript descriptions to accompany plates 1-7, 10, 13-17, 19, 23, 25, 28, 31-32, 34, 36, 38, 40-41, and 45 in his Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (New York: J. J. Audubon, 1845-1848); and over 50 letters by Audubon to Lucy Bakewell Audubon (his wife), John Woodhouse and Victor Gifford Audubon (his sons), Robert Havell (the English engraver of Birds of America), and others. In addition, there are original letters by Lucy Bakewell Audubon, John Woodhouse and Victor Gifford Audubon, John and Julia Bachman, members of the Bakewell family, and Francis Herrick. Accompanying an 1834 letter to Robert Havell is also an original proof for "Summer Red Bird" (plate 44) in Birds of America.

More than 30 photostat copies and 6 bound volumes of Howard Corning's transcripts extend the collection's coverage of Audubon's correspondence. Corning's transcripts also cover Audubon's journals from 1820-1821 and 1840-1843. Subject files of printed materials include clippings, pamphlets, catalogs, and related correspondence pertaining to exhibitions about Audubon, his life in Florida, Robert Havell, portraits by and of Audubon, and Mill Grove, Audubon's Pennsylvania estate. Material related to Princeton's 1959 comprehensive Audubon exhibition includes related correspondence, publicity, and research files.