Ashton's medical notes begin the collection. Topics include the brain and flow of blood; rational medicine; the eclectic system; consumption; emotions; the nervous system; application of medicine; conditions of the system; compatibility of medicine; form of medicine; matera medica; therapeutics; forces and actions of medicine; treatment of gonorrhea and stricture; symptoms and treatment of syphilis; diseases attendant upon gonorrhea and syphilis; stimulants; doses of medicine; and use of acids.A manuscript notebook of prescriptions follows. Equivalencies of apothecaries weights begin the notebook, followed by instructions for making expectorants, ointments, linaments and other remedies for a variety of medical conditions. The notebook also includes a newspaper clipping addressing cures for cholera and consumption. Medical notebooks include information about topics covered in lectures. The collection also includes a June 18, 1869 letter from Dr. A.R. Brown of Albion, Michigan to Ashton, in which Brown informs him of a recent lawsuit in which he was involved regarding a patent. Brown also encourages Ashton to "have no fears or hesitancy in employing the Acupuncture set. Do it freely and report how you like it." Handwritten poetry and essays can also be found in the collection. Poetry includes verse regarding a man's bout with sickness and a selection titled "A Wife Wanted," written as though it was intended for publication in a newspaper. Essays include those titled "Working Miracles," "The Educated Mind, and "What Is Knowledge?" The latter selection is addressed to Eliza Ashton. Miscellaneous selections of notes include an envelope addressed to Ashton at Mt. Carmel, Indiana from Jno. Farquhar, a verse titled "On Lewd Women," and sentences about being a good son and a real gentleman. Notes on what appears to be a stage performance outline selections such as "Rob Roy or Isle of France," "Over the Water to Charley," "Jonny Come Kiss Me," and "Flowers of Edenborough." Notes regarding the Civil War discuss ideas concerning the powers of government, duty to the Union, whether the Southern states have a right to secede, causes of the war, equality, and abolitionists. A resolution from the Union Club of the Constitutional Union Association outlines the order of business in meetings of the club, while two passes dated September 3, 1862 document Ashton's permission to leave the city of Cincinnati and Newport, [Kentucky] to go home.Printed material in the collection includes a December 1867 issue of Prang's Chromo. This issue of a journal of popular art reveals how chromolithographs are made; letters from Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Frederic Church, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Bayard Taylor on chromolithography; hints on framing chromolithographs; and a price list of Prang publications, including rewards of merit, Sunday School room cards, albums, gifts for children, marriage certificates, and miscellaneous prints.The Budget of Novelties: Containing a Catalogue of Valuable Books and All the Latest Novelties & Curiosities for Everybody provides information on purchasing a variety of publications covering topics such as ballroom dancing, riddles and puzzles, curing bashfulness, magic and card tricks, letter-writing and business handbooks, ventroquilism, and taxidermy. A broadside titled "Last Week, at the Melodeon" provides information about performances of magic tricks such as the "Sleeping Arab," producing hundreds of American flags, cutting off noses, the "interminable bottle," and "wonderful productions from a lady's shawl."Issues of The Small Fruit Recorder and Cottage Gardener span from December 1869 through December 1870. Edited by A.M. Purdy and published in Palmyra, New York, this newspaper covered topics such as preparing planting beds, information on specific varieties of fruits, vegetables and trees, and cultivators. The collection also includes a broadside advertising the "monthly paper devoted solely to the cultivation of small fruits, flowers and vegetables" that features illustrations of varieties such as Wilson's Albany and Davidson's Thornless berries. Other advertising ephemera connected with the newspaper includes notices to distribute the paper to those "who would be likely to take an interest in getting up a Club for the Recorder" and a list of plants raised at the Palmyra Fruit Nurseries in Palmyra, New York that were available for purchase.