The workbook that comprises this collection was used during the Amos Parrish Fashion Merchandising Clinic, held in New York City, January 6-10, 1930. The clinic was offered once and at times twice annually from the 1920s through 1955 to forecast the year's fashion industry trends. This workbook belonged to Howard Phillips, merchandise manager for Ernst Kern Department Store, Detroit, Michigan, and was annotated by Phillips.

This collection consists of an introductory booklet to Benedict J. Fernandez's portfolio of photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr., taken in the last year of King's life, Countdown to Eternity: Photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960's. Fernandez was founder of the photography program at Parsons School of Design, serving as chair from 1981-1994.

A drawing of a male nude by Parsons School of Design alumnus and president Van Day Truex, formerly owned by Harry and Dorothy Kneedler Lawenda.

William Merritt Chase established Parsons School of Design in 1896 as the Chase School of Art. The name of the school changed to the New York School of Art in 1902, and to the New York School of Fine and Applied Art in 1909. This charter documents the 1909 name change. In 1940, the school was renamed Parsons School of Design in honor of former President Frank Alvah Parsons and to differentiate it from other, similarly named institutions.

Fashion illustration by René Robert Bouché depicting American fashion designer Sophie Gimbel. The illustration appeared in the April 15, 1961 issue of American Vogue with the caption, "Sophie's sari tactics for short evenings." A framed reproduction of this illustration hung at the entrance to Parson School of Design's Adam and Sophie Gimbel Design Library on West 13th Street. The portrait was taken down upon the 2014 closure of Gimbel Library.