This collection includes nine letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson as well as letters of Louis Agassiz, Amos Bronson Alcott, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, John Lothrop Motley, Charles Sumner, and John Greenleaf Whittier. In addition, there are two incomplete manuscripts by Emerson and one document from the Liverpool Custom-house signed by Nathaniel Hawthorne as Consul for the United States. The collection also includes the corrected typescript, index, and page and galley proofs for Thomas Franklin Currier, A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES (New York, 1953) which was edited by Professor Tilton. Also, some early correspondence and photographs of the Tilton family and friends. There are letters from the actors Annie Louise Ames, Richard J. Dillon, and Hans L. Meery to Tilton's grandfather, Bernard Paul Verne, as well as photographs, tintypes, and daguerreotypes of the Verne family and friends.

The collection consiste of correspondence, memoranda, reports, bulletins, clippings, photographs, awards, and printed material. The files, arranged by genre and topic and reflect her philanthropic and legislative work in the areas of health, specifically cancer, heart disease, and mental health. Her civic and legislative work is covered in detail, as well as her private interests and activities.

A significant collection of Rockwell Kent's correspondence; drawings and sketches; watercolors; lithographs; proofs; manuscripts; and architectural drawings. There are also lithographs and woodblock prints by Kent's students and admirers.

A large and important collection of the correspondence, memoirs, and plays of Tennessee Williams. The collection is especially strong in the later works.