The manuscript and book auction catalogs were purchased for the sake of  those pursuing bilbiographic research on manuscripts and rare books who might find valuable sale and provenance information in the catalogs. They record auctions that took place mainly through Bloomsbury, Sotheby's and Christie's, spanning from the nineenth through the late twentieth centuries. Similary, the donation received of jewelry auction catalogs are intended for those purusing research on the history of jewelry and costume. The majority of the jewelry catalogs were of auctions held via Sotheby's or Christie's in various locations from the mid-1980s through the mid-2000s. The third series of the collection is devoted to auction catalogs that record the sales of items other than manuscripts, books or jewelry.