The series consists of photographs predominantly depicting aspects of social and administrative life at Riverview Hospital and the School of Psychiatric Nursing as well as and Colony Farm. The photographs in the series portray the everyday social life of Riverview Hospital staff and volunteers as well as events, meetings, gatherings, and kinds of work they undertook. Additionally the series depicts scenes of Riverview Hospital's many buildings in varying states of completion, portraits of prize winning livestock (Holstein cattle, Clydesdale and Belgian horses), scenes during periods of flooding at Colony Farm, and equipment, vehicles, and technology used by the Hospital.

The glass plate negatives in Subseries 01 and 04 are known to have been taken by W.J. Moore, a prominent Vancouver photographer. It is possible that the entire collection was taken by W.J. Moore, although it has not been possible to confirm. Some photographs in Subseries 02 are thought to depict the Provincial Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster. Photographs in Subseries 04 are also thought to depict the Dominion Experimental Farm in Agassiz, B.C.

Record types consists largely of silver gelatin negatives in large format cellulose acetate sheets and cellulose acetate film strips. The subseries also contains a collection of glass plate negatives, chromogenic colour negative film strips and large format sheets, silver gelatin DOP prints, a photograph album, and a scrapbook.

The Riverview Hospital Historical Society collection consists of the records collected and maintained by the Riverview Hospital Historical Society (RHHS). Through their museum and library, the RHHS acquired and stewarded records documenting the history of Riverview Hospital, the British Columbia School of Psychiatric Nursing, and the history of psychiatric care in British Columbia.

The collection consists of a range of documentary forms, including: reports, theses, newspaper clippings, newsletters, publications, correspondence, manuals, plans and drawings, directories, inventories, procedures, programmes, annuals, invitations, motion pictures, personal narratives, staff lists, minutes, study notes, scrapbooks, ephemera, and photographs depicting aspects of social and administrative life at the hospital and school.

The collection is arranged into ten series that reflect original collections maintained by the RHHS, and are organized by media type or content. See the Arrangement note below for more information.