The Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Photograph Collection was compiled from photographs, slides, and negatives produced by, gathered by, or donated to VALB over the course of its history. Some of the images were donated by veterans and their families or acquired from individuals engaged in filmmaking, journalism, research or publication projects. For the most part, caption information has been taken from notations on the photographs, with minimal editing.

Series I: Photographic Prints. This series contains ca. 2,000 photographs collected by VALB and used in its New York City offices. The series consists mainly of images of American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, and includes portraits, group shots, combat scenes, and images of demonstrations and support activities in the United States after the Spanish Civil War including protests against the Vietnam War. Dates are provided or estimated when possible. Series I is divided into four subseries, Subseries A: Individuals, is comprised of photographs of portraits and groups in which each individual is identified; Subseries B: Individuals in Groups, includes photographs of larger groups of people in which only one or a few are identified; Subseries C: Subjects, General, includes photographs taken at particular sites as well as images grouped by topic. Subject designations for the most part match those used in the original photo captions; Subseries D: Monuments, Memorials, Celebrations, and Reunion, includes photographs of memorial gatherings, commemorations, reunions and other veterans' events, as well as demonstrations and other political activities in which veterans and their supporters participated. Also included in this series are a few photographs of political notables and other subjects of general political interest.

Series II: Negatives, consist of 204 negative images of U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (including portraits, group shots, and combat scenes) and of support activities in the United States. All of the negatives have matching prints in the collection; the negative sleeves are marked with the item number of the corresponding print. (Negative numbers are also noted on sleeves or folders of their matching prints.)

Series III: Slides. The 8 slides in this series are images of a 1974 VALB trip to China.

Series IV: Unprocessed Material, consists of a large number of miscellaneous photographs donated to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, or acquired by them for publications, exhibits, etc. but never integrated into this collection. The exact provenance of most of the photographs is unknown. Many folder titles are general; they include any available donor information.