Collection includes John Willy’s catalogs, hotel periodicals, and newspaper clippings.

Additionally, collection contains materials related to the conferral of Willy’s honorary doctorate and his obituaries in various newspapers and hotel periodicals. The collection also includes photographs of Willy's friends taken by various Chicago-area portrait photographers between 1870 and 1900. Collection contains small amount of material relating to Willy’s family, including his marriage certificate to Mary Louise Launder, a periodical edited by Dorothy Willy, and a picture of Hattie Launder.