Collection consists of 140 photographs pertaining to the life and pursuits of James Joseph Claxton over the course of sixty years. Subject areas identified within this collection include: quartz and placer mining in the Cariboo; Kingcome Village; the Royal Irish Contabulary; Roderick's Jewelers, New Westminster; the "M.S. Columbia III"; Kwakiutl petrographs in Fort Rupert; totem poles at Alert Bay; and the Salmon Arm Boy Scouts of Canada group.

Item consists of transcript and tape summary of interview with Tom Payne who discusses his life, emigration from England, service in World War I, and career as shoemaker in Quesnel. Also discusses his subsequent work at the Experimental Farm in Prince George