The Robert L. Ramsey papers consist of primarily professional materials from Ramsey's career, first as director of an Off-Broadway theater company, and then as a scenic designer and art director. Also included are papers related to film projects developed by Ramsey that he intended to work on as director and/or producer.

The bulk of the collection is made up of set design drawings made by Ramsey for commercials, theater, and some for film and television. Most of this work dates from the 1950s-1980s. In some cases, there are also photographs documenting the completed sets. Among the dozens of commercial set designs in this collection are those for well-known companies like Pespi and Gillette. These commercial sets show the changes in advertising aesthetic and trends from the 1960s through the 1980s, a golden age for the medium of television commercials. Also of note in these design materials are papers related to Ramsey's work as art director for the film Madron. Drawings for retail displays are also included in this material.

Another substantial part of these papers are records from On Stage Productions, a theater company co-founded by Ramsey in 1946. The records offer a window onto the workings of an Off-Broadway theater company in the post-war years. Included in these papers are financial records, detailed documentation of box office sales, correspondence with actors and figures in the theater world, as well as information on specific productions staged by On Stage. There are programs, set design drawings, photographs, and clipped newspaper reviews for many of these productions. A history of On Stage and a list of their productions will be found in Series I "Resumes and self-promotion."

While immersed in his career as a scenic designer, Ramsey also aspired to be a filmmaker. The collection includes papers related to unrealized film projects Ramsey worked on, some over the course of many years. The most significant of these was Fig Tree John, an adaptation of the novel by Edwin Corle of the same name. Ramsey worked on this project for at least fifteen years and his efforts are documented here by files containing extensive background research, multiple drafts of the script, and correspondence with potential partners.

Ramsey worked as a set designer for the White House under the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson. The only documentation of this work in the collection is a set design for a 1965 concert at the White House called "A Salute to Congress" and a Christmas card from President Johnson.

The collection also includes student work from Ramsey's time at the New School Dramatic Workshop, personal business records, theater programs from productions Ramsey was not involved in, and assorted scripts and screenplays of unknown relation to Ramsey's work.