The photographs are arranged by subject matter and cover activities in and around the town of Deseronto, Ontario. The majority date from the late nineteenth century and many depict the lumber-related industries of the Rathbun Company in Deseronto. There are also photographs of school groups, churches, railways, First World War airfields and portraits of Deseronto citizens.
Research notes compiled by Edward Wright on the history of match manufacturing companies in Deseronto, particularly the Dominion Match Company, with extracts from minutes of the Council of the Town of Deseronto , copies of advertisements from the Canadian Grocer, 1911-1922 and scans of match boxes.
Newspaper clipping taken from page 4 of the Pittsburgh Daily Post, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania published on 24 February 1890, concerning the manufacture of wood gas from sawdust in Deseronto, Ontario.