Most of the letters are replies to appeals by Porter for contributions to a memorial to Henry Fawcett and the cost of portraits of the seventh Duke of Devonshire, J.B. Lightfoot and B.F. Westcott; or replies to his invitations to a dinner in honour of recipients of honorary degrees (1883), and the celebration of the six hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Peterhouse (1884); or concern an address of support from members of Senate to the Liberal Unionist leadership (1887).

The papers described in this catalogue date chiefly from the end of the Second World War to the 1970s; from the beginning of this period Butterfield was assisted in his University and college duties by a secretary. The collection documents almost all aspects of his academic life and writings, and provides a record of the wider development of historical studies over the course of his career.

fo. 1: list of statutes in the hand of Simon Patrick. fos. 2v-4, 51-4: blank. inside front cover: 'Saml Knight', 'Bx.d.1.19'. fo. 2: 'B.d.1.19' (mark of J. P. Baumgartner).