The collection contains correspondence from Frank Alvah Parsons, president of the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design), to alumni James Wilfrid Kerr and Rose Netzorg Kerr, in addition to a short manuscript written by James Wilfrid Kerr upon Parsons' death. The tribute relates Kerr's experiences as a World War One veteran studying art under Parsons' tutelage.

Margaret McKay Tee (1882-1955) came to New York from Cripple Creek, Colorado in 1902 to attend Cooper Union. Frank Alvah Parsons later hired Tee as a student instructor at the New York School of Art. After returning to Colorado, Tee carried on a correspondence with Parsons. Tee's papers include letters from Parsons, photographs of Tee's paintings, and an autobiographical essay relating Tee’s upbringing and her experiences as a young art student.

Includes 1,425 photographs, contact sheets and negatives documenting Parsons student and campus life, including exhibitions, award and fashion shows, guest lectures, field trips, and campus construction projects.

A leather portfolio embossed with "Sydney Fromkes, 1910-1927" on the front, containing student work from the brief time Fromkes attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art before his death in 1927 at the age of 17. The portfolio contains theatrical costume drawings, poems, and other writings.