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Most of the letters, which comprise the bulk of the collection, were written to Chekver in the late 1940s and 1950s by such emigre writers as David Knut, Aleksei Remizov, and Iurii Terapiano. Also included are verses by some of Chekver's correspondents (such as Knut, Igorʹ Chinov, and Vasilii Sumbatov), photographs of Knut, and books of verses by Chekver and Iurii Trubetskoi.

The correspondence includes a copy of a 1913 letter to Smirnova-Maksheeva and a 1973 letter from her. The manuscripts are primarily by Smirnova-Maksheeva and include essays on the St. Petersburg Ekaterinskiĭ Institut; the Smirnov vodka dynasty (to which Smirnova-Maksheeva's first husband belonged); the author Petr A. Zhili︠́a︡r(Pierre Gilliard); the painter Konstantin E. Makovskiĭ (whom Smirnova-Maksheeva knew) and her husband and father-in-law. In addition, there is a manuscript of a talk about Smirnova-Maksheeva's poetry given by Georgiĭ Ivit︠s︡kiĭ in Paris, 1975. The published books are "Rasskazy i povesti" (Paris, 1975)"Skazka o russkom soldate, krylatom bese i t︠s︡arevne Elene" (Paris, 1974)"Dushoĭ i serdt︠s︡em" (Souvain, 1970) and "Tain̆a kazbeka-Gruzinskai︠a︡ legenda v stikhakh 16-17 veka" (Paris, 1947).