The type and quantity of material contained in the Annual Competition Files changes through the years and reflects how emphasis was placed on different aspects of the Prizes during their history. For example, in the early years of the HAP, it was standard practice to have a professional photographer take photographs of all the entries. This changed in the latter years, when the only pictorial record of winning entries retained were those shown on the exhibition brochures, so the Annual Competition Files for this period do not contain individual images. Similarly, there is little publicity material contained in the early year files, but from 1997 to 2005 large colour posters displaying the prize winning entries were produced to advertise the exhibitions, together with A4 sized posters, greetings cards and calendars. The change in 1986 from entries being made through exhibiting societies, to entries being opened to all-comers is also reflected in the type of material retained, as in some of the early year files there are handbooks relating to each society. These generally include information on members, the history of the society and list entries for their annual competitions. From 2003 onwards, the annual Prize event was used to promote a selected charity and the files for these years contain general information about the nominated charity, together with information on how much money was raised for their benefit.
Although the type of material retained alters, it is possible to identify key activities which have occurred throughout the twenty five year period of the Prize. The Annual Competition Files may therefore contain some of the following component parts:
-Administration and judging records (e.g. correspondence between the Hunting Group, exhibitors, judges, and those presenting the awards, venues for travelling exhibitions, etc relating to the planning and administration of the Prizes; Hunting Group internal correspondence; details of expenses; lists of judges; b&w and colour images of the judging process; information about specific charities supported during the prize)
-Information about competitors and winners (e.g. individual images of the works entered; lists and HAP exhibition catalogues detailing the competitors, some with images of the winning entries; information, images and biographical details of the prize-winning artists, some of which was collected in 2004 in preparation for production of 'The Hunting Art Prizes 1981-2005'; significant correspondence with the individuals who entered the competitions; blank prize certificates)
-Press, publicity and events information (e.g. press-releases; call for entries, printed flyers, posters; invitations to the HAP receptions; drafts of speeches given at the HAP receptions; images of receptions and other promotional material)