The collection comprises brief letters addressed to Pingard, the secretary of the Institut de France, by painter and sculptor members of the Institut, between 1841 and 1891. Most of them request tickets for family and friends to meetings inducting new members. There are also letters confirming participation in the annual dinner, others asking for changes in the membership directory, and letters from members unable to attend the funeral of Victor Hugo in 1885. A new member, Jules Brenton, asks if he must wear the uniform at the public meetings (1886 Oct. 16). The painter Alexandre Cabanel sends a change of address in 1884. The sculptor Gustave Crank sends a messenger for the election result (n.d.). Nosselof has promised to make Pingard's portrait, and asks him to send him a photograph in profile (1883 Jan. 19). The painter Guillaume Dubuffe requests the forms and rules of the Academy poetry contest for a friend living in the country (1883 Nov. 3).
