The major portion of the collection comprises the draft for Otto van der Sprenkel's unpublished bibliography 'A selective and annotated bibliography of Chinese history, thought and society to 1965 in Western languages (excluding Russian)'. Also included are personal letters, cards and photographs belonging to Van der Sprenkel and his wife Pamela, papers relating to Chinese historiography and sinology conferences, notes by Pamela van der Sprenkel on Sir Joseph Banks, and genealogical papers pertaining to the family of the prominent architect John Kirkpatrick (1856-1923), Pamela's great-uncle.