The photograph album contains over 200 images of the medieval church as well as supplementary autograph manuscript notes in the hand of a Frenchman identified as "M. Cottin." In addition to the annotated photograph album and a companion notebook, there are loose photographs, photostats, and miscellaneous documents that relate to the study of Notre Dame. It appears that the album was created as an early attempt to illustrate Viollet-le-Duc's text on Notre Dame with photographs. A number of the photographs bear the stamp of French photographers Seraphin Mederic Mieusement and his son-in-law Paul Robert, as well as the stamp of the Commission des Monuments Historiques. The photographs in this album also serve as a visual record of the changes made to the cathedral during the Viollet-le-Duc restoration, and document losses in exterior stonework due to acid rain, erosion, and World War II damage.
