Correspondence, contracts, credit reports, and leases in this collection document the business of Houston, Texas based Merchants & Planters Oil Company, particularly during the last period of its existence, 1930 through 1941. This company was owned by William Marsh Rice and associated with Rice Institute after Mr. Rice's death.

The collection contains records and printed material on the early land holdings and dealings of William Marsh Rice and the Rice Institute in 45 Texas counties and 4 Louisiana parishes. The collection also contains records and printed material concerning early Rice Institute campus construction, legal matters (including judicial settlements and statements), institutional housekeeping (including receipts and invoices from 1891-1907), and campus area property and construction.

This collection is composed of correspondence, memos, minutes, reports, commencement procedures, notices and emails that document the activities of Rice University standing committees between 1946 and 2000.

The collection consists of sales/payment records, tax records, maps, deeds, and correspondence concerning the town lots received by the Rice Institute from the Rice Estate and others purchased in later years. Also included are deeds, construction contracts, inventories, tax records, and correspondence concerning the Rice Hotel and 99-year lease with the Houston Endowment.