This series contains a diverse amount of photographs and artwork.
Many of the photographs in this series are of American railroads and, to a lesser extent, other foreign railroads and railways. The majority of the photographs of American railroads, locomotives, equipment and rolling stock are from those lines that also had branches into Canada. Their equipment therefore had a good chance of being used on Canadian railways; either by the US-based railroad companies or as parts of consists of Canadian railway companies such as the CNR and CPR.
The earliest photographs appear to date to the 1880s, but there are relatively few 19th century images. The latest images seem to have been taken in the late 1960s or early 1970s as there a number from the CPR which show equipment in the livery that was newly adopted at this time. The negatives generally appear to date to prior to the 1950s, as most of them are nitrate.
There are two groups of negatives: glass plate negatives; and plastic negatives, of which most are celluloid nitrate. The nitrate material dates prior to about 1950.
The contents of the prints run the gamut, although the greatest numbers of them are directly concerned with railways: equipment, locomotives, buildings, rail-lines, bridges, etc. rather than directly with the part that railways played in the economy and society. Various aspects of railways and work on the railways are portrayed; but photographically the treatment runs from publicity photography distributed by the railways themselves to snapshots taken by railways "buffs", to impressionistic views taken and printed by amateur photographers in the style of the 1920s and 1930s.
Also included are a number of prints relating to marine subjects: harbours, shipping (including some tall ships).
Additionally, there is one album of photographs by William Notman. This album, of 194 prints, was purchased by Mr. Merrilees at an unknown time. It was evidently made up for a specific but unknown purchaser who may have chosen the images that he wished to have included. The album is set up geographically, commencing on the east coast at Halifax, and continuing across the provinces to British Columbia, however the majority of the photographs are centred on Quebec and Ontario. While the photographs have been captioned, no dates are supplied; but from internal evidence and on the basis of some known copies of certain images, as well as the inclusion of the B.C. images which were taken by Benjamin Baltzly for the Notman firm, it seems certain that the album was not created before 1872. The photographs appear to fall in the period of roughly 1868 to 1871.
Also, artwork in this series consists primarily of works relating to transportation and in particular the railroad, and also works collected by Andrew Merrilees reflecting a penchant for advertising images relating to travel, vacationing and cultural events. Included is a painting by Albert Sheldon Pennoyer (1888-1957) entitled "A Good Measure for Speed"; two paintings by Ewart Melbourne Brindle (1904-after 1948) entitled: "Welcome to our Home" and "Loading Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Cars, Train-yard;" and one rendition of the Coat of Arms of Canada by an unknown artist.
The prints include a rare group of colour lithographs of the Famous Canadian Jubilee Singers [ca. 1901-1902], many published by the Duncan Litho. Co. Hamilton; an exemplary group of miniature vignettes for steel engravings produced by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New York (forerunner of the American Bank Note Co.); a group of letterpress prints advertising Steamer Excursions and Regattas at Sturgeon Point and Stony Lake, [1905-1908]; a large colour lithograph after Seth Arca Whipple (1855-1901) entitled: "The Tug 'Champion' towing a fleet of Schooners from Lake Huron into the St. Claire River;" and individual divers prints including "The 34th Annual Exhibition Western Fair, London, Sept. 5 to 14, 1901;" reproductions include posters reproducing paintings of railroad subjects by American artists such as Walter L. Greene (1870-1956), Howard Fogg (1917-1996), and E. Teller (?); calendars including "The Travellers Currier & Ives Calendar," [1978] and several versions of "The Steam Locomotive Calendar," [1961]; a work by Joe Barros; one by Barbara M. Carson; and thirty-two postcards of locomotive and water transportation subjects.
