The collection is comprised of four Duncker family letters dating from September to November 1918; photocopies of documents relating to the Duncker Hall cornerstone at Washington University dated 1923 and 1924; and photocopies of newspaper clippings and articles related to Charles H. Duncker, Jr., the war in France, and to Duncker Hall. The collection is arranged alphabetically by type of document, family correspondence, and photocopies, with documents arranged chronologically within each category. The collection dates from 1918 to approximately 1998 with a large gap from 1925 to 1997.

Charles Duncker, Jr. wrote the two earliest of the family letters to his younger brother, Henry, whom he addressed as “Dear Heinz,” while he was in France in September 1918. In the first letter on September 8th, Charles asked Henry what insignia he wore and wished him luck in obtaining a commission. The second letter, written on September 26th, explained his regiment’s situation and the nighttime artillery and gas barrages. Charles found that he was “very comfortably situated…in a solid concrete pillbox with some good German beds in it.”

The final two letters are dated after Charles’ death. There is a typed copy of a letter written by Lt. DeMott Modisette to Charles Duncker, Sr. on October 20th. Modisette explained the circumstances of Charles’ death and his funeral in France, over which Chaplain E.L. O’Toole, also a St. Louisan, officiated. Charles Duncker, Sr. enclosed this typed copy in a letter that he wrote to Henry on November 12th, hoping to arrange to see him in Louisville the coming weekend. Mr. Duncker explained in the final line, “I have no official notice from the U.S. only the letter copy enclosed.”

The several photocopies include two newspaper maps, Belgium and France, from October 1917; documents and a newspaper article relating to the laying of the cornerstone and its contents at Duncker Hall in June 1923; a newspaper article and the text of the memorial tablet placed on the east wall of Duncker Hall; and a biographical article about Charles Duncker, Jr. dated approximately 1998. Several of the copies concerning Duncker Hall bear a heading, “From Wash U Publications,” which indicates that the original documents are at Washington University.