The collection consists chiefly of Judd's eight field notebooks and correspondence with his family and the Yale Peabody Museum. The majority of the notebooks are signed by Judd contain his extensive observations about birds, mammals, and the weather in Connecticut and North Dakota; bird lists, a few feather specimens, 1 postcard photograph of birds with annotations, and Judd's pencil drawing of an unidentified bird; and briefly mention his work and social activities. The three notebooks titled "Skins 02-09," "Nests," and "Nests '05-'06" (Folders 1-2) contain information relating to the collection of specimens Judd donated to the Yale Peabody Museum in 1932.

The bulk of the family correspondence consists of 15 autograph letters, signed, that Judd wrote from Cando, North Dakota, describing his life and work there, to his mother, father, and grandfather in Connecticut, between April and October 1909. The family letters also include two autograph letters, signed, from his mother in Connecticut in 1909, and a 1911 autograph letter, signed, from his aunt Susie in North Dakota with condolences upon the death of his mother. A small group of correspondence relates to Judd's donation of his collection of specimens to the Peabody Museum: four typescript and manuscript letters, signed and dated 1932 or 1944, from Richard S. Lull (director) or Stanley C. Ball (Zoology curator) regarding the acquisition and organization of Judd's collection, as well as an initialed carbon copy typescript of Judd's 1944 response.

Additional items include: a corrected manuscript draft of an essay describing Judd's time in Cando, undated (29 pages); an undated photocopy of a printed checklist Judd used to record which bird species he collected in Towner County, North Dakota, with his manuscript annotations (5 leaves); a corrected manuscript draft of a speech Judd delivered to his high school class, titled "Protection for Our Native Birds," 1903 June 24 (8 leaves); an undated typescript photocopy of the eulogy Samuel D. Bogan delivered at Judd's memorial service on 1968 December 7 (2 leaves); and a black-and-white photograph of Elmer Judd and three other men standing in front of a shack alongside a horse-drawn cart with a dog sitting in the driver's seat, circa 1900, with the caption "Shack of Elmer Judd Cando N.D." on the recto and a manuscript annotation on the verso.

Birds > North America.

Feathers > Specimens.

Mammals > North America.

Natural history > United States.

Connecticut > Description and travel.

North Dakota > Description and travel.

Diaries.

Field notes.

Notebooks.