The collection consists of correspondence, manuscripts, research notes, newspaper clippings, articles, bookplates, and photographs. Most of the material relates to Walter J. Meagher's work on A Proper Bostonian, Priest, Jesuit: the diary of Joseph Coolidge Shaw. Included are photostat copies of the diary, letters, and Last Will and Testament of Joseph Coolidge Shaw, SJ. The collection also includes Meagher's own diary from 1965, which covers his time as a faculty member at Boston College, and documents the details of his personal life, as well as updates from Boston College and its alumni. Also included are photographs from Meagher's life, primarily from his ordination at Weston College in 1928.