The collection consists of postcards and letters by Homer Dodge Martin and his wife, Elizabeth G. Martin, to their friends William Crary Brownell and his first wife, Virginia Shields Swinburne. Posted from different cities where the Martins were traveling or living, the letters are personal in nature. Some date from England in the 1870s when Homer met Whistler and, later, when he was commissioned by Century Magazine to sketch in George Elliot's country. There are letters from Concord, Massachusets, where Martin was sent by Scribner's Monthly to make the illustrations for The Homes and Haunts of Emerson. Included are several letters dated between 1882 and 1886 when the Martins lived at Villerville in France. The letters discuss Homer's paintings, including "Ontario Sand Dunes," Elizabeth's poetry and writings, and their desperate financial situation. They could not afford to buy eye glasses for Homer, had many creditors, and needed to ask Brownell for a loan. Two of Homer Dodge's letters contain sketches in pencil and in ink. In the letter dated September 25, 1896, Elizabeth writes to Brownell about her husband's deteriorating health and about the growth in his throat, which was later discovered to be cancer of the throat.