The Howard Belding Gill papers consist of the personal and professional papers of penologist Howard Belding Gill (1890-1989). These include artifacts, audiovisual materials, awards and certificates, clippings, correspondence, notes, photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and typescript, manuscript, and carbon copy drafts of writings and speeches. The bulk of the materials document Gill’s professional career, with very few personal papers. A small selection of papers belonging to Isabelle Kendig, Gill’s wife, likewise pertain to her professional career as a psychologist.

A majority of the collection are the records of Norfolk Prison Colony. From 1927-1934, Gill served as superintendent of this institution, and his years there are documented in administrative records, correspondence, clippings, scrapbooks, writings about the institution, and records of the investigation which cost him the position in 1934. Blueprints, photograph albums, and artifacts provide a visual record of life at the prison. Gill had an ongoing interest in Norfolk, and records in this series continue until 1985 (with the bulk dating from 1929-1934). District of Columbia records include District Jail administrative correspondence, memos, and reports, the majority of which were compiled during an investigation into Gill’s tenure as Superintendent of Prisons from 1944-1946.

Audiovisual materials consist of taped lectures and complement the class materials, which include administrative records, correspondence, lecture notes, class plans and syllabi, and student papers. Class materials document Gill’s career as both a student and a professor, consisting of his own papers and notes from his doctoral work in sociology at the University of Maryland (1948-1949); his administrative records and lecture notes from the University of Wisconsin, where he worked as a lecturer of sociology (1949-1952); and the records of the Institute of Correctional Administration, which Gill founded and where he served as director from 1952-1970.

Gill was a frequent consultant on topics relating to prisons, correctional training and education, and criminology for over six decades, and his consulting records include correspondence and memos, project proposals and reports, and survey instruments. He also wrote and spoke frequently on these topics, and the collection includes speeches and conference notes as well as writings in many formats. Gill’s subject files document his main areas of interest, including capital punishment, juvenile delinquency, and the history of penology, and contain clippings, printed materials, correspondence, notes, reports, syllabi, and bibliographies.

Biographical materials include drafts of Gill’s autobiography, resumes and curriculum vitae, transcripts of interviews, clippings, and a small amount of material related to Gill’s house in Nantucket, "The Wild Goose." General correspondence dates from 1926-1987 and was arranged by Gill either by correspondent or by subject, an arrangement that has been retained. The majority of correspondence is with other criminologists and penologists.