The O'Brian mss., ca. 1970-1994, consists primarily of notes and full-text manuscripts of author Patrick O'Brian's historical sea novels. Autograph manuscripts for eighteen of the twenty published novels are present.
The O'Brian mss. II, ca. 1930-1941, consists of the letters, writings, and clippings of author Patrick O'Brian, 1914-2000, written under his original name, R. P. (Richard Patrick) Russ.
The Ollard mss., 1979-1993, consist primarily of letters from Irish sea novelist Patrick O'Brian, 1914-2000, to his longtime friend and former editor at Collins & Sons, Richard Lawrence Ollard, 1923-2007.