The collection comprises mostly Joseph Bonomi's correspondence and papers, with some of his brother Ignatius Bonomi and other members of his family, especially his sister-in-law Isabella Mary Martin. The non-family correspondence includes letters with Samuel Birch, Egyptologist at the British Museum, George Spencer Cautley, rector and poet, Charles Robert Cockerell, architect, John Gibson, sculptor, James Haliburton, Egyptologist, Robert Hay, Egyptologist, Owen Jones, architect, Edward Lane, Arab scholar and lexicographer, Lord Prudhoe, 4th Duke of Northumberland, John Gardner Wilkinson, Egyptologist. Bonomi's papers include commonplace notebook, journals, notes on antiquities, sketchbooks and scrapbooks.



The correspondence has been calendared to provide short summaries of the contents, including some direct quotation. A full stop indicates the conclusion of a particular letter; semi-colons indicate different themes within a letter.