The collection consists of the working papers--a collection of photographs and photocopies of original documents primarily in the Musée de L'Air (Paris), the Montgolfier family archives, and the Archives de l'Ardèche (Privas)--used by Gillispie while researching his book The Montgolfier Brothers and the Invention of Aviation, 1783-1784 (1983). The book deals with the invention of the balloon as a means of flight and the subsequent inventions and technological developments in combustion and steam engines, locomotives and railroads, bridge-building, and the start of aviation.

Included are copies of correspondence (ca. 1779-1798) of the Montgolfier brothers, Jacques-Etienne and Joseph-Michel, concerning their balloon flights and other inventions, as well as documents about the family's papermaking business. Also present are copies of documents and correspondence relating to the 19th-century engineering firm of Freres Sequin, who furthered industrial development in France. (The Montgolfier and Sequin families are related by marriage.) There are copies of works by Marc Sequin (1786-1875) on bridge-building and engines, and a biography, Marc Sequin, by P. E. Marchal.

In addition, there are miscellaneous notes and correspondence of Gillispie on the history of aviation, printed matter, and a few photographs of a Montgolfier descendant riding in a hot air balloon on her wedding day in 1979.