The Harry T. Peters Collection of Pictorial Newspaper Illustrations spans the period from circa 1845 to 1920 and contains approximately 10,500 wood engravings depicting daily life and news events of the late 19th century. The collection is organized into two series: general subjects and places/geographical views.

The vast majority of the illustrations in the collection are black and white wood engravings, but a few earlier woodcuts and some later halftone prints are also included. Most of the collection's single and double-page sheets are from the leading American pictorial journals: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (1855-1922) and Harper's Weekly (1857-1916). Other publications include Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion (begun in 1851, from 1855-1859 was known as Ballou's Pictorial), the New York Illustrated News, and Scientific American (begun in 1845). Some earlier (1840s-50s) views are cut from the Illustrated London News (begun in 1842). Many images are full sheets, so that the publication and date are clearly visible; some images have been cut so that no identifying information can be found.

Images show aspects of daily life, important news and cultural events, and fanciful illustrations on a wide variety of topics. In many cases, images found in this collection are difficult to find elsewhere, as photography was not fully in use as a documentary format, and as the ephemeral nature of many of the events pictured did not warrant a separately-issued lithograph or engraving. While images pertaining to a certain geographic region have been grouped together, the researcher is encouraged to look through the "subject" folders as well as through geographic views, as one is likely to find additional images in both places. There appears to be substantial overlap between some of the categories. Subject categories were created by N-YHS staff after the donation of the collection, and have not been changed.

Numerous artists are represented, and the work of several leading illustrators has been grouped together. These are William M. Cary, Arthur B. Frost, Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, Howard Pyle, and Frederic Remington.

Series I. General subjects includes clippings sorted by general subject. The largest categories are entertainment, sports, ships, and politics. Engravings sorted by artist can be found in this series.

Series II. Places holds clippings sorted by location. The majority of these deal with New York City, particularly its buildings and events. Beyond the New York metropolitan region, large sections include images of Philadelphia, Chicago, and international locations.