Fonds consists of a copy of the 'Catalogue of specimens in the several departments of Natural History forming the Museum of the University of Toronto.' Only birds are listed in the catalogue. The volume opens with an introductory note discussing the history of specimen collecting and the formation of a museum at the University of Toronto. This is followed by an index that lists vertebrate, articulate, and Mollusca families. The catalogue begins on page 26 with a note written January 1865 which explains the organization of the specimens in the collection. The volume then lists the species of the specimens in the collection as well as providing information on where they were purchased and, occasionally, who prepared them. Interspersed with the catalogue are notes discussing the orders of birds. There are also pencil annotations to the text, which are probably later additions, which provide information on new acquisitions as well as changes to the collection.