Montrealer, Philippe Masson (1911-1944) was a descendent of Joseph Masson, Siegneur of Terrebonne, now a vibrant community north-east of Montreal. Little is known about the life of Philippe Masson apart from the fact that he suffered from a chronic illness and died at the age of 32 on 1 August, 1944. His remains are buried in the Parish church in Terrebonne. In spite of his illness, he developed an interest in the collecting of ephemera and he developed a passion for the collection of book plates which he pursued in a single-minded fashion. In addition, he methodically catalogued and described his collection in fifteen volumes.

The catalogue and collection were acquired by McGill University Libraries in 1972.