Series I. Negatives consists of ninety-four nitrate film negatives taken between 1904 and 1913. The negatives are numbered, although in no discernible order; this was probably done by a New-York Historical Society staff member at the time of accession. They are listed here in numerical order. One third of the negatives have corresponding prints. Those without corresponding prints are noted as such in the container list. Because these are nitrate negatives, they have been physically removed from the collection and are kept separately in cold storage. If you need to access the negatives, please contact a staff member in the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections for assistance.

Series II. Prints contains 160 silver gelatin photographs. Thirty prints of New York City are numbered to correspond with the negatives. Others (primarily views of trees throughout New York State and New England) are arranged by geographical subject. Most of the photographs are 3 x 4 inches, a few are as large as 5 x 7 inches, and some are mounted on card.

The series includes views of New York City, mainly focusing on old wood-frame buildings, older residences, and street scenes including them. Some include beverage sign advertisements, particularly for Moxie. About half of the photographs in the collection are images of trees. Unnumbered photos of parks in Manhattan show trees and general park scenes in Central Park, East River Park, City Hall Park, Stuyvesant Square and Riverside Park.Photos of specific trees in Manhattan show those on the Hamilton, Jumel, and Audubon estates.

Other New York photos show trees in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Photos of historic or interesting trees in Connecticut and Massachusetts are also included. A set of family photos from Twilight Park in the Catskills in New York shows the general landscape, Crane's family, and amusingly, a photo of a woman chopping at a tree with an axe.