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Papers cover Witkowski's writings on medical history (and other areas of history) rather than his medical activities. MSS.5036-5038 comprise press cuttings, publishers' notices, reviews, etc., relating to Witkowski's writings, plus original poems, some photographs, and some letters to him about his work; they span the bulk of his career (1865-1920). MSS.5039-5085 consist of material related closely to various published works on medical history and art history by Witkowski: typescript and holograph drafts, annotated published material, etc. Within this block of material, MSS.5057-5062 consist of a detailed critique of Folie de l'Empereur by Augustin Cabanès (1862-1928), consisting of heavily annotated copies of the published work. Also worth noting are MSS.5063-5064, copies of Witkowski's Comment j'ai appris l'Histoire Sainte, a Rabelaisian and satirical anti-clerical history. Finally, MSS.5086-5088, written under the pseudonym "Docteur Clam", comprise travel writings, recording travels in Italy, Turkey, Romania and Hungary, in 1901 (MS.5086); Egypt, in 1901-1902 (MS.5087); and Italy, in 1905 (MS.5088).

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence: the Singers were clearly vigorous letter writers and both Charles and Dorothea had an enormous number of family, friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately many of their letters were hand written and very few carbon copies survive. Very occasionally an attempt at methodical selection and arrangement is evident: on the whole correspondence had been kept in alphabetical order, and this has been retained in the arrangement of the collection. Dorothea and Charles' correspondence was fairly mixed (reflecting their working life together) with the exception of two distinct groups: correspondence about Dorothea's research on alchemical manuscripts, and later correspondence about her hearing aids.

The main part of the collection centres on the correspondence; this has been grouped together in a self-evident sequence: writings and biographical personal papers follow. Certain of Dorothea's papers remained clearly distinct and these have been kept together. Section E contains a variety of material relating to Jewish refugees, which had been placed on one side by Dorothea after the war for permanent preservation. It has not been listed in detail but sorted into three broad categories. The last section, comprising additional correspondence of the Singers with Sir Zachary Cope, Sir Arthur Salusbury MacNalty and Dr F N L Poynter, is not strictly part of the collection, but these groups of correspondence were given to the Institute to be placed alongside the Singer papers.

The collection covers both Pettigrew's medical and antiquarian activities, which are intermingled in the material's arrangement. The medical items include correspondence with many medical figures, medical jurisprudence (an Anniversary Oration delivered to the Medical Society of London), corpulence, hydrophobia, medical observations by army officers in India, and an autobiographical memoir of the philanthropist and prison-reformer James Neild (1744-1814), transcribed by Pettigrew and incorporated into his life of John Coakley Lettsom M.D. The antiquarian items include material on Kett's Rebellion, Hindu deities, the library of the Duke of Sussex and correspondence with the Italian antiquary Giovanni Spano (1803-1878) and Gaetano Cara, as part of Pettigrew's role as Vice-President of the British Archaeological Society. Types of material held include notebooks, loose papers, correspondence and diplomas.