John M. Canse was pastor for the University Methodist Episcopal Church in Seattle, Washington, during the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909. This collection contains booklets, pamphlets, and maps on the history and development of cities and counties in Washington, Oregon, and other states. It also includes materials on railroads, highways, bridges, expositions, national parks and forts, and George Washington.

Stella Lilly (1890-1986) was an English teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, from 1921 until her retirement in 1959. The Stella Lilly papers contain periodicals, maps and pamphlets collected by Lilly during a 1937 trip to the 7th World Education Conference in Tokyo, Japan.