The Bourbon family collection consists of five “real photo” postcards sent between relatives in Kansas City, Mo. and Beloit, Kan. in 1906 and 1907. In addition to family news, the postcards mention photography and developing images on the postcard stock, a large prairie fire in western Kansas, a local explosion in Kansas City, and a photo of Swope Park in Kansas City.

Two letters from Joshua William Beede to his fiancée, Clara McKee. Both letters are chatty and loving, Beede indicating he is glad to get McKee's letters and describing encounters with mutual acquaintances. The August [1899] letter is written over the course of several days from a camp in Wyoming, and Beede describes some of his activities there, including anecdotes about his academic adviser S.W. Williston.

Guy Hatfield was a magician from Kansas City, Missouri who made his living by traveling throughout the Midwestern United States. This collection contains some of the letters he wrote to his wife, Nell, while on the road from October 1889 to March 1892.

Two letters written by Reverend L.A. Alderson from Atchison, Kansas to his niece Jane Remley in Iowa City, Iowa. The letters, written in March and April 1875, recount Alderson's and his wife's health, as well as discussing the religion of various family members, including his niece's husband.

Ledger of accounts for hardware business Smith and Case Company, organized by Horace J. Smith in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas in 1866. The ledger provides documentation about work performed and costs, as well as names of local businesses and indivdiuals with whom the company worked.