The holding consists of an album containing 361 photographs (358 b&w, 3 colour) dating from ca.1914 to ca.1963 and a collection of 19 loose photographs (18 b&w, 1 colour) dating from ca.1914 to ca.1971. The majority of the photographs record the family on holiday in favorite summer vacation spots such as Grand Beach, Victoria Beach, Minaki and Kenora. Also included are several photographs of Merle's Irwin relatives who are believed to have been residents of Stonewall.

The collection consists of 7 Cartes de Visites featuring full length portraits dating from 1860 - 1870. The subjects are identified in only two of the Cartes and one of these is a collector's Carte which features the Prince and Princess of Wales on the occasion of their engagement in 1862. The other identified subject is Esther Craig. Also in the collection are 2 Cabinet Cards dating from 1885 and featuring a little girl identified as Alice Chisolm and a couple identified as Duncan and Mary Chisolm.

This collection consists of: a small snapshot of the bride and groom, full length, posed in front of a brick fireplace; a still taken from a movie of the bride and groom, from the waist up, leaving the church; a copy print of a snapshot of the bride's mother, full length, posed outside 439 Scotia Street. All date from the time of the Cartwright wedding in 1935.