The six volumes in this collection contain hand-written "credit reports" compiled by St. Louis area correspondents or reporters for the R. G. Dun Company from the early 1840s to the mid 1880s. These correspondents would usually file a report twice a year about numerous individual businesses in St. Louis (and other cities) to record information on the condition of each business. The reports would also be sent to the Dun Company's office in New York City.  An entry on a particular business could contain information on that business over a 40 year period. The notes provide a glimpse into the mercantile life of St. Louis, as well as the social and cultural history of the area, during the middle and later portions of the 19th century.

The six volumes found in this collection are incomplete, only partially covering the total set that had existed at one time on businesses in the St. Louis area. Volume numbers have been retroactively assigned.