This collection primarily contains original correspondence--including letters, telegrams, and postcards-- to California architect Robert D. Farquhar from Chester A. Aldrich. Also included is a small group of letters from Amey Owen Aldrich to Farquhar. Most letters are accompanied by envelopes; a very few contain photographs, clippings and other ephemera. Matters discussed in the correspondence vary widely from intimate personal subjects to observations and reports on the work of Carrère & Hastings and Delano & Aldrich, the American Red Cross and its work with soldiers in Italy during World War I, the rise of Fasicsm in Italy, economic hardships during the Depression, and the state of American and European architecture.

An American architect and urban planner, Shadrach Woods was a student of Le Corbusier and worked extensively throughout North Africa, France, Germany and New York City on projects ranging from low-cost housing developments to university campuses. Also highly regarded as a critic and theorist, Woods taught at Harvard and Yale and lectured and published widely. The collection represents the span of Woods' life and career through papers, photographs, architectural drawings, writings, and published materials. A small group of materials documents his childhood and education through personal papers and photographs. However, the bulk of the collections relates to his professional work and collaborations.