This collection is comprised of correspondence dating from 1960 to 1962 relating to the publication of The Letters of José Señán. It includes transcripts of the letters translated by Paul D. Nathan and edited by Lesley Byrd Simpson. It also documents the correspondence between the various parties involved in its publication.

Padre José Señán was the president of the Franciscan Order in California during the early 1800s. Most of his work was done at the San Buenaventura Mission over a 27-year span. He died in 1823 and is buried under the altar at the mission. The forty-eight letters incorporated into the book are from the Estelle Doheny Collection in the Edward L. Doheny Memorial Library on the grounds of St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California. Additional materials for the book were secured from the archives of Mexico City and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It was published by John Howell Books of San Francisco.