Collection consists of auction catalogs divided into two portions: the Sotheby's and Christie's jewelry auction catalogs (103 items) and the Jeremy Griffiths Manuscript Auction Catalog Collection (517 items) - Sotheby's, Christie's and miscellaneous manuscript, book auction catalogs. Jeremy Griffiths was the editor of English Manuscript Studies. The collection contains auction catalogs concerning medieval manuscripts and celebrated collections sold chiefly at Sotheby's (1920-1997) and Christie's (1959-1997). The catalogs contain excellent descriptions of European, Middle Eastern, and Oriental manuscripts sold at auction in the last century. Included in the catalogs are photographs of illuminations and engravings of some of the more spectacular manuscripts for sale. Some of the more famous collections featured are: the Phillips Manuscript Collection, Estelle Doheny Collection, J.R. Abbey Collection, the Honeyman Collection, the Chester Beatty Collection, the Lothian Collection, the Dawson Turner Collection, the Harry Yates Thompson Collection, the Manuscripts from Stowe and the sale of the Gutenberg Bible, which had its own separate catalog.