This collection contains correspondence and memorabilia from John Spencer’s time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mysore, India from 1966 to 1968, mostly in the form of his letters home to his family in Vestal, New York. Spencer was assigned to the project designated India 26, which focused on the development of poultry programs in Mysore state. Specifically, the India 26 volunteers were charged with promoting extension work, egg marketing, and feed development. Spencer's work was concentrated in the villages of Jamkhandi and Bijapur.

The collection also includes various letters received by Spencer from fellow Peace Corps volunteers and others he met while in India, as well as material related to the artistic career of Vijay Sindhur, an artist Spencer met as a Peace Corps volunteer. Sindhur lived in the village of Jamkhandi, where Spencer was based; he asked for good oil paints and Spencer's mother purchased a Grumbacher paint set and shipped it to India for Sindhur's use. Sindhur painted two portraits of John Spencer during his residence in India: the first won an award for the State of Maharashtra, and the second painting won the All India prize for 1967.

Two DVDs of photographs document visits in 1995 and 2012 between Spencer and the Ram Tikotekar family in India and the United States. In 1995 Spencer and his father visited India to attend family weddings, and were honored by having the building which houses the Ram Tikotekar family business named the Spencer Complex.