European Heritage Documents, 1334-1950 and unknown

The European Heritage Documents collection contains a wide variety of documents, written mostly in French, but also Latin, Italian, and Spanish, with a few in German and Dutch. Most documents are hand written, some on parchment. A significant portion of the collection deals with the history of the Savoy region and includes land, property and other legal records, genealogy, government decrees and correspondence. This material may originally have been collected for the purpose of writing a history of Savoy or of the Mellerede family. Items about this family include genealogies, family trees, coats of arms and other legal and official documents.

There is also a significant amount of material on the families of Poterin du Motel and the Guentevilles from northern France, in part consisting of birth and death certificates, marriage and dowry contracts and military records.

The collection consists of a large proportion of correspondence, to and from prominent figures, on a wide variety of topics including property, science, finance, the military [including mentions of the first French Revolution, the Seven Years War and the Napoleonic wars], and some medical and ecclesiastical topics. A significant number of documents seem to have been collected for autographs. The collection includes some prints, mostly portraits of prominent people, and a few drawings. There are also awards, certificates and degrees.