This collection consists of images purchased or otherwise received by the Kenneth Spencer Research Library's Kansas Collection, typically from dealers specializing in photography. Kansas Collection staff picked these images for their content and subjects. While the bulk of this collection's formats consist of real photographic and lithographic print postcards, also in the collection are 20th century prints, glass plate negatives, and some mounted and unmounted prints.

The bulk of the collection consists of images of places in Missouri (notably Kansas City), Nebraska, and Iowa. Other states represented in the collection include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, and an image from Alberta, Canada. There are very few images from most of these other states, at times only one or two prints. There are enough images from Kansas City, Missouri that those folders have been organized topically within the city.

Typically images are of exteriors of buildings, unless the description notes that it is an interior. Subjects of the images include street scenes and aerial views; churches; schools and public buildings; agricultural scenes; residences; fraternal organizations and other societies and clubs; hotels and storefronts; industrial scenes; landscapes and nature scenes; individuals in athletic uniforms; exaggeration postcards, or postcards that enlarge animals, insects, or crops for humorous effect; and other related subjects.

Individual images within folders are described, the photographer noted when possible. Many postcards were sent via the mail and may have messages written on the back. When a description was provided on the image, this is used for describing the item in the inventory. If no description was provided, or if a description appears to have been provided by the dealer rather than a person contemporaneously, processing staff have written a description [in brackets]. Processing staff have sometimes included additional description when it appeared necessary or useful, again [in brackets]. Descriptions provided frequently make use of acronyms, particularly for specific religious denominations, such as M.E. for Methodist Episcopal; Cong. for Congregational; U.B. for United Brethren, etc., as well as St. for Street. Terms and language used is representative of when the images were created and has been replicated in this finding aid only when directly quoting from captions.

Dating for many of the items in this collection has been approximated by when a postcard was postmarked and mailed. Location has sometimes been approximated by where the photographer was located or by where a postcard was postmarked.