One volume contains songs for guitar and piano, the other compositions and arrangements for guitar. Peale and his wife copied some, if not all, from the works of various composers.

These documents are principally of Pennsylvania interest, 1757-1809, including letters to Richard I. Manning from John C. Calhoun, Marquis de Lafayette, George McDuffie, and William Wirt. There are also letters of Clement C. Biddle, James Buchanan, Francis J. Grund, James Madison, Timothy Pickering, and William H. Seward. In addition, there are several musical scores (n.d.) and 19 cancelled checks (1861-1871) drawn by Ticknor and Fields in Boston, to the order of various American authors.

Principally by Mme. Brillon, these compositions include marches, sonatas, and songs. Included is "La Marche des Insurgents" which Mme. Brillon composed after receiving news from Benjamin Franklin of General Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in 1777.