The collection consists chiefly of a set of 85 scrapbooks which preserve the record of the lives careers of Ball and Arnaz as they were recorded by the contemporary press. The childhood years of their children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr. also figure prominently in the scrapbooks. Along with newspaper clippings and magazine articles, however, there are also many photographs, letters, telegrams, greeting cards, and other items. There are also five scrapbooks assembled by Desi Arnaz's father which record the details of the Arnaz family in pre-revolutionary Cuba, and a number of scrapbooks assembled by fans of Lucille Ball and sent to her in her later years. In addition, the collection contains many of the scores and instrumental parts used by the Desi Arnaz Orchestra from the late 1930s until the 1960s.