Highlights in the Collection relating to the life and career of Russell Lee include 137 vintage Farm Security Administration photographs, most with captions typed on the back by FSA office staff. Some have china marker crop marks and various other editorial notations on the front and back. Also of interest are the thirty-seven FSA photographs (both vintage and modern) from his Pie Town, New Mexico series, one of his most famous series (shot in 1940), and three FSA-era notebooks in which he recorded background and research information about the places he photographed. A caricature of Russell Lee depicted with a camera and tripod, signed by the entire FSA staff, and given to him when he left the FSA to join the Air Transport Command is also an item of note. The Collection also contains a variety of artifacts including three of his FSA-era cameras, the cap Russell Lee wore first as a captain, then as a major in the Air Transport Command, as well as his World War II medals. Three paintings Russell Lee produced prior to his career as a photographer, his mother’s diary from 1900-1901, and his grandmother’s family bible are also contained within the collection.