Hugh Ferriss (1889-1962) was an architectural renderer known for his vision of the modern city and his ability to translate vast projects into dramatic but clear-cut images. Ferriss published two books: The Metropolis of Tomorrow (1929) and Power of Buildings (1953). The collection was donated to Avery Library by Ferriss' family after his death, and has been supplemented by several later additions from other sources. 363 original drawings in the collection have been photographed and digitized and can be viewed via links in the finding aid's container listing.

The office files of the American Institute of Pacific Relations and the international Institute of Pacific Relations, containing correspondence and reports concerned with international conferences, research programs, and publications programs of both Institutes, and relating to the political, economic, and social problems in eastern and southern Asia and the South Pacific, as well as with problems of American foreign policy. There are many travel letters and on-the-spot reports relating to conditions in China, Japan, Russia, Australia, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan during the period 1933 to 1954.

The papers are composed of correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, notebooks, documents, journals, printed material and photographs. They document the life and work of Iraida Barry (1899-1980), Istanbul-based Russian émigré sculptor, and of her father, Viacheslav Kedrin (1869-1951).

Material gathered by Oswald Garrison Villard in the researches for his biography JOHN BROWN, 1800-1859: A BIOGRAPHY FIFTY YEARS AFTER. A large part of the materials is copies of correspondence both contemporary and of a later period, concerning John Brown and his associates, especially in the Kansas Territory and at the Harper's Ferry raid. Of the original letters in the collection, many are from descendants and family of John Brown and the men who accompanied him on his raid. There are clippings, pamphlets, proof sheets, and other printed matter. Photographs number 181 items.

Manuscripts by Payne, including plays, poems, journals, essays, account books, correspondence, letter books (to and from) including a large group of letters from Washington Irving. Also, pictorial material, scrapbooks, biographies, portraits, passports, and other documents; and materials on the Cherokee incident, 1835-1838, and Payne's arrest in Georgia. Other material include letters of various members of the Payne family and of related families. Of greatest interest is a group of fine letters and manuscripts of Eloise Richards Payne (1787-1819), a sister of the playwright. These present a sensitive and revealing portrait of the social, cultural, and political life of the time. Among the manuscripts and documents are many items of genealogical interest on the Paine, Shippen, Lynch, Luquer, and Lea families. Two boxes of the papers of Col. Thatcher Taylor Payne Luquer contain correspondence on various aspects of John Howard Payne's career, and on "An Unconscious Autobiography" the letters and diaries of William Osborn Payne (1783-1804), a brother of the playwright, edited by Col. Luquer.

Levi's correspondence with his wife, Alice Fries Levi, letters of other family members, his diaries, his school and college notebooks and papers, awards and medals, and personal photographs. The earliest item in the collection is a scrapbook kept by his father, Albert A. Levi, in San Francisco, 1862.

Correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs. The files contain much material of the League of Women Voters of New York State as well, and some material pertaining to the national organization. The files document the League's activities in the areas of voter registration, election reform, New York City government, foreign policy, ecology, and numerous other concerns, and contain the records of city, state, and national conventions, annual reports, and Board and Council minutes. Major correspondents include Emanuel Teller, Stanley M. Isaacs, Jacob K. Javits, Robert F. Kennedy, Edward I. Koch, John Vliet Lindsay, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Anna Lord Strauss, and Percy E. Sutton.

Papers and memorabilia of Lou Little, including fifteen letters and copies of letters from Dwight D. Eisenhower, awards and certificates presented to Lou Little, and numerous photographs relating to the Columbia football teams, other athletic associations, charities, and other interests of Lou Little. Also, a Rose Bowl scrapbook.

This collection contains correspondence, documents, manuscripts, clippings, photographs and printed materials dating from 1874 to 1969, relating to Luellen Cass Teters Bussenius (1868-1968), journalist and editor of The Delineator.

Correspondence, manuscripts, documents, photographs, printed materials, and coins of Marii︠a︡ A. Svi︠a︡topolk-Mirskai︠a︡ and her son Nikolaĭ V. Svi︠a︡topolk Mirskiĭ. The correspondence is primarily from members of the Imperial family (such as Grand Duke Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich and dowager Empress Marii︠a︡ Fedorovna) to Marii︠a︡ Svi︠a︡topolk-Mirskai︠a︡. Most of it dates from the 1920's and 1930's and much of it is mounted in scrapbooks. The manuscripts include Basil Strandman's "Balkan Reminiscences." Among the documents are diplomas, certificates, passports and Imperial decrees dating back to 1832. The photographs include a photograph of Metropolitan Evlogiĭ and several dozen copies of Imperial family photographs. There are also many photographs of paintings, icons and architecture. The subject files consist of materials relating to the Notbek family, the Mariĭnskoe Sestrichestvo (to which Marii︠a︡ Svi︠a︡topolk-Mirskai︠a︡ belonged), and the Iverskai︠a︡ Church in Belgrade. Among the printed materials are 12 issues of "Khudozhestvennye Sokrovishcha Rossii" (1901)"Mʹemoires du regne de Catherine.."(Amsterdam, 1729), and "Thʹeâtre de l'Hermitage de Catherine II.."(Paris, 1799?).