Collection includes documents of biographical importance such as certificates and diplomas. There are a number of papers relating to the construction of Physical Laboratories at Manchester and Schuster's work with the Royal Society. The collection contains his experiment and lecture notes, copies of his scientific papers, cuttings, and photograph albums. Also contains correspondence between Schuster and many of the leading scientists of the period, such as Lord Rutherford. There is correspondence with Sir Robert Falcon Scott and the meteorologist Sir George Clarke Simpson concerning Scott's last, ill-fated Antarctic Expedition. Important subjects are history of physics teaching and research.