Early correspondence is primarily between Ethel Bowditch (later Jones) and her father Henry P. Bowditch. In 1889 and 1890, Ethel writes from Dresden and other locations in Germany while visiting her mother's family, the Knauths, incorporating detailed descriptions and sketches of German landscapes, activities, and people. Ethel's later letters to her family are largely from Boston and, after 1901, from Middleborough, containing news of family, social activities, and the progress of her children. Several letters between Ethel and her sister Fanny Bowditch Katz in 1917 and 1918 discuss Ethel's mental health while she was institutionalized for severe depression after the birth of her fourth child. Also included are letters from relatives and friends written to Ethel during this time.

Other correspondents include Selma Knauth Bowditch to her sister-in-law Nellie Bowditch; Octavia N. Jones to her son Henry C. Jones; Henry P. Bowditch with his daughter Eliza "Lily" Bowditch Van Loon; and Fanny Knauth to her granddaughter Ethel Bowditch Jones.

Later correspondence is primarily that of Dorothea "Dee" Bowditch Jones. Letters to Dee from her cousin Willem Van Loon in the 1930s describe his life in New York City as a student and later a professional dancer. Other letters to Dee are related to her World War II service at naval training facilities in Newport, R.I. and San Diego. From January through November 1946, Dee writes weekly letters to her family describing her post-war service with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee as a hospital administrator in British-occupied Germany and Poland. Her letters include vivid descriptions of her crossing on the Queen Mary and her impressions of postwar London, Paris, and Prague. Her descriptions of postwar Germany include the internment camp at Drancy, the devastation of Berlin, Hitler's chancery and bunker, and stories of the war and concentration camps told to her by staff and patients. She also describes her Polish medical team and her interactions with her UUSC supervisor, Noel Field, who was later convicted as an American spy working for Soviet intelligence. Beginning in June 1946, her letters include copies of her monthly hospital reports listing staff, equipment, medical statistics, and patient data for Polish refugees. Additional letters from January through May 1949 describe Dee's private employment in Germany and her travels after her UUSC position has ended. Several photographs are attached to Dee's letters.

Additional correspondence includes that of Elizabeth B. Jones (later Childs) related to her position as director of the Fitchburg Art Center, as well as letters to Deborah Jones Webster from Peter Oliver about the purchase of "Sproats," the Jones family property in Middleborough, Mass.

Personal papers include a photocopy of Henry C. Jones's "Journal of a Cross-country Trip," describing his journey from New York to California and back in the summer of 1883; the 1928 Radcliffe thesis of Ethel B. Jones (Childs); papers related to the Putnam Camp, the family's New York summer retreat; eulogies and memorials for Henry Pickering Bowditch, Eliot N. Jones, and Percival Knauth; family poetry and sketches; and the 1967 will of Fanny Bowditch Katz.

Volumes include an 1848-1849 account book of physician Ralph Kneeland Jones, father of Henry C. Jones and Eliot N. Jones, documenting his patients' accounts in West Needham. Also of interest are the eight sketchbooks of Ethel Bowditch (later Jones), whose pencil sketches and watercolors include scenes and portraits from Germany and New England between 1889 and 1909.

This subseries includes memorials of J. Ingersoll Bowditch (1909), Henry Pickering Bowditch (1911), and Charles Pickering Putnam (ca. 1914); Radcliffe College ephemera; genealogical material; articles and exhibit catalogs related to Nathaniel Bowditch; articles related to the life and work of Henry Pickering Bowditch; blueprints and lithographs of the Jones property in Middleborough, Mass.; and other newspaper clippings and ephemera related to the Bowditch and Jones families.

This series consists of Childs's correspondence, largely related to the management of the Childs Gallery, his work with the Boston Public Library, and various appraisals, exhibits, and art sales. The bulk dates from 1954 to 1984, including that with Sinclair Hitchings, keeper of prints at the Boston Public Library, and John Mitchell, an English art restorer. Also included are letters from friends and acquaintances asking for advice and appraisal of collections or individual works of art.

Of particular interest is correspondence related to a 1935 exhibition of the maritime paintings of Robert Salmon curated by Childs at Goodspeed's Bookshop, which helped to foster a rediscovery of Salmon as an artist and renewed interest in his work. Later correspondence includes letters regarding the thirtieth anniversary of the Childs Gallery in 1967.

Papers include Childs's sales records from Goodspeed's Bookshop; a legal agreement between Childs and Goodman Walker, Inc. when he separated from the company to form the Childs Gallery in 1937; and financial and legal records from Childs Gallery, including papers related to Ethel Bowditch Childs's medical conservatorship of Childs's business affairs during his recovery from brain surgery in 1961. Also of note are papers related to Childs's work on various art exhibitions, including his 1935 Salmon exhibition at Goodspeed's Bookshop and his work on a 1974 Paul Revere exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Included are several lectures and talks Childs gave from the 1930s to the 1980s, as well as undated notes from various lectures Childs delivered at the Boston Public Library, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and other institutions.

This subseries contains books and articles authored by Childs, including periodicals, exhibition materials, and a 1927 monograph about artist Samuel Chamberlain. Gallery promotional materials include postcard advertisements, exhibition promotions, bulletins, and catalogs for the Childs Gallery. Dratch's monograph contains a comprehensive collection of the Childs Gallery's exhibitions and publications over its 43 years of business, compiled for an art librarianship course. Miscellaneous material includes yearbooks and other printed material related to Childs's club memberships, three catalogs from Goodman Walker, Inc. (1935-1937), historical and promotional materials collected by Childs from various exhibitions, newspaper clippings, and ephemera.