Fonds primarily consist of the personal records of Winnifred Van Slyck, which remained in her custody until her death. These records do not form part of the documentation of her period as President of the DCCI or as Curator of the Costume Museum of Canada, the records of which remained in the custody of the Museum and were accessioned in 1999. Items found here include diaries, personal photograph albums and scrapbooks, research notes and background material for major projects such as the Springfield History Book, very early conceptual notes for the Dugald Costume Museum project, lists of works of art, and personal biographical records and clipping files.

Collection includes: a large studio portrait of Hugh with his wife Eleanor and their children (Olive Lillian, Herbert Rutledge and Ethel Winifred) taken at Portage la Prairie, ca.1885; an individual portrait of Ethel, aged 4, probably taken at the same time; two small portraits of Olive Harley, ca.1870 and 1875; a large class photograph identified as students outside Treherne School, ca.1895; a snapshot of a man identified as Dr. George Bruce holding an infant, ca.1908; two snapshots featuring the donor as a small child with her mother, Ethel Bruce, ca.1908-09.

This collection consists of 46 black & white snapshot photographs mounted in an album (designated A28) and five other photographs of various sizes found loose in the album. Almost all of the photographs date from ca.1900 - 1910. Subjects include locations from Liverpool to Saskatchewan and it is possible that the album documents the experiences of British immigrants who homesteaded on the Saskatchewan prairie around the turn of the century. Included among the photographs are views that, although unidentified, are possibly of the interior and exterior of a homesteader's cabin. Also included are several views of various farm equipment and livestock. Other photographs include a 1920 photograph of a threshing machine and a 1928 souvenir photograph of a B.C. Electric Railway touring car.

This collection contains 12 snapshots (one of which has been enlarged and mounted on a dark card), 3 postcard prints and 3 studio portraits. The subjects of these photographs are all individuals or groups of mostly young women but children and men also appear in several of the photographs. Of the identified subjects, only the name Gwen (or Gwendoline) is repeated twice. Included in this collection are two unusual postcards, ca.1912. The cards feature two prints in oval 'frames' on the face and messages in French on the reverse. Both are addressed to different addresses in Belgium, however, neither has stamps or displays any indication that they have been mailed.

The photographs feature portraits of the type usually found in family collections. Although many of the subjects are not identified, those that are include members of the Waite family and Sanders or Saunders family (which are possibly the donor's maternal relatives). Photographer's imprints from Leytonstone, Stratford and London (England) indicate a place of origin in Southern England. Thirty-two photographs dating from ca.1865 - 1925 were found in the album.

Items consist of 8 colour photographic images as well as a number of documentary items pertaining to Viola's death in December of 1997 and subsequent memorial service in February of 1998. Three of the photographs depict Viola wearing items of clothing donated to the Costume Museum.

Item consists of a copy print of a black and white photograph of a woman, seated, and a man, standing, in a doorway. The couple are identified in a caption on the reverse of the photograph as Alexander and Victoria Litkowich, ca. 1916.

The bulk of the collection consists of 19 studio portraits of individuals and groups dating from ca.1850 - 1895/96. It is likely that the oldest photographs were owned by Hector and Jane Munro and the collection was added to over the years by their children and grandchildren. The remaining four photographs are postcard size snapshots dating from ca.1920 and depicting a small northern settlement identified as The Pas, Manitoba.

The holding consists of a Cartes de Visites album containing 12 photographs which date from ca.1865-1885. The subjects of the Cartes are adults, adolescents and children and they are identified as Gillanders relatives. Also included with this holding is a collection of 14 loose Cartes de Visites (designated C13) and larger studio photographs dating from ca.1870-1918. Subjects include individuals, couples and groups of all ages. Many are identified as Lockharts and Gillanders. One is a group photograph identified as Maryburgh School.

The collection includes: a portrait of Susan and Robert Skelton on the occasion of their marriage in 1899; two photographs of Susan Skelton's wedding dress as it appeared when donated to the Dugald Costume Museum in 1988.