A catalog of the large collection of birds purchased by Thomas B. Wilson from the Duc de Rivoli (i.e. Andre Massena, Prince d'Essling); annotated copies of a letterpress catalog of the same; photostatic copies of the catalog of the Gould collection of Australian birds, by Verreaux, with original manuscript of same; and the catalog of the Gould collection in the hand of Witmer Stone make up the series.

Jules Verreaux, in whose hand is written the catalogs of the Rivoli and Gould collections, was the elder of the Verreaux brothers who maintained in Paris the commercial establishment called the Maison Verreaux. With his brother Jean Baptiste Edouard, in the firm were combined the roles of naturalist, explorer and taxidermist. Many descriptions of new species were published by the brothers, altho very little field collecting was done by either. When the Gould collection was purchased in London, it was shipped directly to the Maison Verreaux in Paris to be mounted on wooden standards according to the custom of the times.