The materials in these papers relate to a period extending from 1885 to 1938 and reflect Colonel House's three major (and lifelong) professional interests: developments in Texas, Democratic Party politics, and foreign affairs. The papers are especially useful to students of the period 1912 to 1919, when Colonel House served as President Wilson's principal political adviser. Probably the richest part of the entire collection deals with Colonel House's experiences at the Paris Peace Conference of 1918-1919.

Series I, Correspondence, the most extensive part of the papers, covers the years 1894-1938. The series include the originals or copies of all personal as well as most official (or semi-official) communications preserved by Colonel House.*** The Correspondence files include letters to House from more than 6,000 individuals as well as copies of his replies to them. Of particular interest are the letters to and from Woodrow Wilson, Charles Seymour, foreign statesmen, and American ambassadors.

Series II, Diaries, contains typewritten transcripts of three separate documents prepared over a number of years under Colonel House's personal supervision. The diary provides a daily record of Colonel House's activities from 1912 to 1919, and less elaborate entries from 1920 to 1926. It was dictated almost daily to Frances Denton, House's private secretary, who accompanied him on all his trips abroad. The work is remarkable for its revelation of House's frank and personal assessments of the personalities and projects of the era. The "Memories" and "Reminiscences" provide autobiographical account of House's life, supplementing the diary. Also included in the series are logbooks kept from October 31, 1918 to June 29, 1919, which provide evidence of the number of individuals who visited House private office.

Series III, Political Papers, is divided into three principal sections: Domestic and International Questions, 1911-1918; The Paris Peace Conference, 1918-1919; Domestic and International Questions, 1920-38. Of these, The Paris Peace Conference, 1918-1919, is by far the most extensive and second only to the Diary and certain segments of General Correspondence in overall interest and historical value.

Series IV, Writings, includes preliminary and final drafts (along with the printed versions, where available) of almost everything written by Colonel House: items range from House's now famous "experimental novel" Philip Dru (1912), and the dozens of articles written for Liberty and McCall'sduring the interwar period, to various unpublished shorter essays, reviews and occasional pieces.

Series V, Personal and Memorabilia, contains copies of over 75 magazine and newspaper articles, as well as an immense collection of newspaper clippings (especially rich for the years 1912-1922 and 1926-1928), personal scrapbooks and a small collection of photographs, and a miscellanea of additional items.

Also included are Godfrey Hodgson's lectures and an interview regarding his biography of House.