The collection consists primarily of selected letters and manuscripts by Ruskin. Correspondents include Jean Ingelow, Constance and Eva Layton, Henry Attwell, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. There are seven letters to George Allen, Ruskin's publisher, in which the author discusses his work. Of the manuscripts included in the collection, one is a three-page portion from chapter three of Unto This Last; and other is one page from The Queen of the Air. Both have holograph corrections and emendations. Furthermore, there is a small watercolor of a mountain scene painted by Ruskin, with autograph annotations on the verso. Also present are a few letters to Princeton librarian Laurence Heyl from other librarians, discussing the Ruskin material.

The following standard abbreviations, or their variations, are used to identify materials in this collection: ALS = autograph letter signed, AMs = autograph manuscript, AN = autograph note, and DS = document signed.