The papers are in poor condition. It appears that they had been exposed to dampness, and molds have formed, leaving deposits on many items. A few notebooks appear to have another substance between the pages, which fused them together. Each page that could be separated was dusted with a fine brush to remove surface dirt (some pages had already been forced, causing slight tears). Notebooks which were damp were left open for several days to dry. Due to the presence of mildew, wrinkled items were placed under weights for straightening, rather than placing them in the humidification tank.

Throughout the papers there appear to be four different examples of handwriting. Two are Amos Chandler’s - a very neat, leisurely written script, and another that is carelessly and probably hastily written, with portions barely decipherable. In the notebook containing the poem “Songs of immortality” 1887(file 1/1/9), the annotations are by Professor Roberts (C.G.D. Roberts, see file 1/1/11). The fourth example of handwriting appears throughout the papers and are often in pencil. Rather than editorial comments or annotations by a critic, the writer appears to be making revisions, lengthy additions, or re-writing portions of the poems. It is not possible to determine conclusively if these were by AH Chandler, or if a third individual may have been the author of these revisions.

The contents underwent conservation at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick in 2001.