The collection covers the period from 1889 to 1964, although only a small number ofpapers have survived from before 1910. Correspondence makes up a large proportion of thecollection. As the letters are nearly all personal in their content and are seldomrestricted to any particular subject, activity or interest, it was not practicable todivide them into series; instead they have all been kept in one chronological sequence.Many of the letters are those which passed between Vance and Nettie on the occasionsthey spent apart. Most of the remainder are from people who have achieved some standingin Australian literary history.