The photographs associated with the Bourquin collection include both prints and negatives (glass plates and flexible), including several photographic albums. Most of the images were taken by Jules Bourquin, who learned photography from a book; there are also some prints by other photographers.

Includes images of family and family friends (portraits and candid shots); scenes around Horton, Kansas (including from a 1911 tornado or cyclone); landscapes; interiors of homes; family camping trips, including at Camp Walnut or Bald Knots/Knox; army drills and encampments; interiors and exteriors of the Bourquin shop; interiors and exteriors of other buildings around town, and other similar scenes. Also includes postcard albums from travel destinations in the United States and Europe, such as Chicago, Switzerland, Niagara Falls, and other locations.

The collection is grouped by format and size. Prints and negatives have the same folder numbers but are housed separately; whenever a print does not have a corresponding negative, this has been noted in the finding aid. Folder titles are from the creator unless in [brackets].

Terms and language used is representative of when the images/text were created and has been replicated in this finding aid only when describing titles of organizations; otherwise, offensive terms have been replaced with more respectful language. The word "auto" is used frequently in the photograph titles, which is a shortened version of the word "automobile."