Series I contains 75 silver gelatin photographs. All are 5 x 7 inches, black and white, aerial views of New York City boroughs. These photographs record the city before it underwent its post-World War II development. Urban geography patterns stand out as do such features as bridges, tunnels, roads, and housing projects.

Photographs are filed alphabetically by borough, and alphabetically by neighborhood or location therein. Manhattan images are filed moving north along the east side of the island, then north along the west side of the island, followed by interior views. Some photographs are specifically identified on the verso. Untitled general aerial views are not described.

Series II contains 807 negatives, both 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 inches. Manhattan is photographed in a systematic way, from East to West and North to South, missing very little. Also included are photographs of large ocean liners, including the Normandie, in port along the West Side of Manhattan. Images of the Bronx focus on parkland, new highways, and large housing projects. Photographs of Queens date from the building of many of that borough's planned neighborhoods and towns. The Belt Parkway is well documented along its route from Brooklyn to Queens, as are the neighborhoods it runs through. LaGuardia Airport and the grounds of the 1939-1940 World's Fair also appear in many shots. The routes of the West Shore Railroad, north from New Jersey into New York along the West Shore of the Hudson River, and of the New York Central Railroad Putnam Division, going north from the Bronx along the East side of the Hudson, are also photographed.

Most of these negatives are cellulose nitrate film, and are thus stored in a freezer for preservation reasons. Researchers who need to utilize these negatives should contact a staff member for assistance.

An inventory of the negatives can be found in the repository.