These extensive manuscript journals, and two letters document a remarkable trek around the world by Dr. Hyde, heir of the Babbitt Soap Company, and his two sons, Talbot and Fred who all eventually inherited equal shares of the massive fortune. The three journal volumes were all written by Dr. Hyde, and the two letters were sent by the two sons to their grandmother Elizabeth Hyde, and mother Ida Josephine Babbitt Hyde, sisters Elizabeth, and Mabel throughout their trip. The trio began their trek by rail from New York to Chicago, where they visited the site of the Chicago Columbian World's Fair and complain about their cameras being locked up, describe the coal smoke as depressing and oppressive which extends far beyond the city limits; from there to Omaha, Nebraska where they visit the stockyards, and then onto Colorado where they visit gold and silver mining operations, stay in Silverton.

The three traveled by train to Mancos, Colorado, and then hitched a ride with a local out to the Wetherill Ranch where they had arranged with Benjamin and Clayton Wetherill to travel by horseback to view the Cliff Palace ruins and Mesa Verde. Dr. Hyde details the ranch, the amounts being paid to the family to preserve Mesa Verde by the state of Colorado, and the stunning beauty of the surrounding countryside, and importance of the ruins recommending continued study. His excitement and fatigue kept him from sleeping after the seven hour horseback ride, so he spent the night "watching the stars which appeared very brilliant owing to the clearness of the atmosphere." The next summer after their return from the World Tour, both Talbot and Fred Jr. returned to the Chicago World's Fair where they met with Richard Wetherill and offered to begin financing excavations of southwestern archaeological sites including Chaco Canyon, which would become known as the Hyde Exploring Expedition.

After leaving Colorado, the trio stopped over in Salt Lake City where they ventured to Garfield Beach and the "principal amusement is floating the head & shoulders, & feet & Legs to the knees being out of the water,", and then finished off their Western travels with an extended week long tour of the Yosemite Valley, visits to the Lick Observatory, Monterey; rode the rails to Portland, Oregon riding through the Siskiyous and describing how "the forest fires [and] smoky condition of the atmosphere occurs every year at this time & continues until the first rains of the Fall," and complain how the wood smoke is so thick in Portland, they were unable to see Mt. Hood. Of additional interest is their excursion up the Columbia River to The Dalles, where they view the Celilo Falls area.

They voyage from Vancouver, British Columbia to Yokohama, Japan on the Empress of Canada, and visit in turn Yokohama, Kyoto, and Tokyo, taking in the Imperial Palace, tourist sites, temples, and more. Dr. Hyde made a special point of visiting hospitals in Tokyo, including the Medical School at the Imperial University of Japan where they were shown the surgery and the medical wards. Afterwards they voyage on the Oxus from Kobe to Hong Kong, and describe the teeming harbor, massive numbers of sampans, foreign gunboats, and more. The trio enjoy Canton far more than the other cities they stay in China.

They also stopover in Shanghai twice, noting the luxury of their hotel, and the impressive boulevards on the Bund, before voyaging onto Ceylon. The heat, humidity, and insects prove oppressive in Colombo, before traveling onto Calcutta on the SS Khadive. The end of their travels take them to Aden, and finally Cairo, Egypt. They voyage up the Nile, view the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, and later join a group camping their way across the Sinai desert to Mount Sinai, and through Gaza up to Jerusalem. After visits to many of the Holy sites in and around Jerusalem, they continue their overland trip through Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon to Beirut, viewing Crusader ruins at Acre, and many other sites along the way. They travel to Constantinople, sight see around the city, visit the Hagia Sophia, the Seraglio, the Tomb of the Sultans, and more. They finish by taking the Orient Express across Europe to Liverpool where they set sail, and return to New York by July, 1893. Dr. Hyde traveled extensively throughout his life with over 50 trips and excursions. Benjamin Talbot Hyde (1873-1933) took over the Babbitt Soap Company from his grandfather which he ran until his retirement as president in 1927, was also a naturalist, spent years living in New Mexico investigating rattle snakes, and was a significant contributor to the Boys Scouts. Fred Hyde, Jr. (1874-1944), established trading posts in the Southwest and also opened a store in 1899 on West 23rd Street together with his brother Talbot and Richard Wetherill.