Four notebooks titled 'Bac-Shak: leaves from a cipher hunters note book' relating to the theory that Francis Bacon is the author of Shakespeare's plays. Bac-Shak was published in four volumes; these notebooks contain the manuscripts of Volume 1, 2 and 4 of the volumes. Each notebook contains a University of Queensland book plate in the front endpapers (except for the first notebook of Volume 1 which is located after the preface). The bookplate states 'A.J. Hockings - J.T. Tilbury memorial collection. Presented to the University of Queensland Library by the descendants of Albert John Hockings and James Thompson Tilbury, 1966'. A number of the leaves within the notebooks include a variation of a hand drawn motif in black ink. It depicts a combination of a cornucopia filled with round fruit, a ram with curled horns, a bull with horns, clovers, thistles, flowers, leaves, birds and sometimes profiles of humans.

Volume 1 is titled ' New light on the riddle'. It is comprised of two notebooks which appear to be nonprofessionally bound with string and glue. The contents of Volume 1 relates to Bacon's Bilateral Cipher. The first notebook includes a title page, a table of contents, a terminology key, a foreword, preface, introduction, four chapters, conclusion and two appendices. It is eighty paginated leaves in handwritten ink with additional handwritten annotations in pencil (leaves before the introduction are not paginated). The chapters are titled 'Generally introductory', 'The slab, cipher work and extracting', 'The folio plays, cipher work and extracting' and 'Of numbers and extracting'. The second notebook is a rough copy of the first notebook. It is thirty-two pages of paginated leaves in handwritten ink and pencil (pagination inconsistent).

Volume 2 is titled 'Daylight on the riddle'. It is comprised of one notebook which appears to be nonprofessionally bound with string, glue and cloth and placed inside a board folder. The contents of Volume 2 relates to other ciphers potentially used by Bacon. It includes includes a title page, table of contents, terminology key, foreword, preface, four chapters, conclusion and two appendices. It is eighty-eight paginated leaves in handwritten ink with additional handwritten annotations in pencil (leaves before chapter 1 are not paginated). The chapters are titled 'The vowel tablet', The formula', 'Other texts' and 'The wills and other texts'. Inside the cover of the notebook were a number of loose pages. These include a letter to the University of Queensland Registrar dated 1937, loose leaves of notes originally in an envelope and sixteen loose leaves titled 'Alternative reading of slab by formula'. Loose items have been kept together in mylar sleeves.

Volume 4 is titled 'Side lights on the riddle'. It is comprised of one notebook which appears to be nonprofessionally bound with string, glue and cloth and placed inside two board folders. The contents of Volume 4 appears to relate to various ciphers on different texts. It includes includes a title page, table of contents, preface, four sections (instead of chapters) and three appendices. It is sixty-one paginated leaves in handwritten ink and pencil with additional handwritten annotations in pencil (leaves before section 1 are not paginated). The sections are not titled. Section one relates to Bacon and Shakespeare's wills, section two relates to Bacon's works, section 3 relates to the works of John Sadler and Joseph Hall and section four relates to works by numerous authors. Inside the back cover of the notebook was a rough copy of Volume 2 on loose leaves, four loose leaves titled 'Evidence of Vol 3 more clearly set out', one loose leaf titled 'Alternative reading of slab by formula' and four pages titled 'My notes of Kaminsky's idea of my horoscope'. Loose items have been kept together in mylar sleeves.