The collection includes class notes and a clipbook of decorative styles compiled by Ethel Epstein (who later used the surnames Dean and Evans) when she attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (later Parsons School of Design) in the Interior Architecture and Decoration Department, around 1925. Also includes textile samples, circa the 1950s, and costume designs for the Broadway play "The Laughing Woman" (1936).

The collection consists of eight notebooks kept by Mariette Cassels (1905-1993) while studying in the Paris Ateliers of the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (now, Parsons The New School for Design) in 1930-1931. Includes lecture notes, photographs, postcards, clippings and sketches of furniture and decorative moldings.

Stanley Barrows (1914-1995) graduated from Parsons School of Design in 1940 and taught interior design there for over twenty years, becoming mentor to several generations of notable designers. The collection includes examples of student work compiled by Barrows, course outlines, class travel itineraries, photographs of Italian decorative styles, biographical material, and correspondence from Barrows related to his work as a designer and teacher.