Jane Campbell Bannerman studied graphic design and illustration at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (now Parsons School of Design), graduating in 1930. She worked for several firms as a graphic and interior designer, and later opened her own interior design business. The collection mainly consists of student work, commercial design work, and travel watercolors, as well as clippings, photographs, and printed items.

Violet Holsinger Mueller (1907-2003) studied fashion design at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later, Parsons School of Design) from 1926 through 1929. She worked as an interior designer for Stix, Baer & Fuller, a St. Louis-based department store, and founded her own design consultancy in Belleville, Illinois. Her papers include personal materials, and documentation created during her studies at Parsons and her design career.