The fonds consists primarily of photocopies of articles, documents, correspondence, photographs or artwork that the donor has acquired from various magazines, newspapers, books, associates and other archives and libraries. The vast majority of the collection relates to “Lost Horizon”, with a much smaller, though still significant, percentage relating to "Helen of Troy". Some of the collection falls outside the scope of either of the two aforementioned movies, being a collection of writings, photos and artwork relating to Hollywood and the movie industry in general, as well as California travel information and info on Tibet. The fonds is divided into the series “Lost Horizon” articles, “Lost Horizon” documents and research, personal effects, "Lost Horizon” publicity stills, “Lost Horizon” production photographs, “Lost Horizon” negatives, “Lost Horizon” art, “Helen of Troy”, related interests, oversized items, "Lost Horizon" microfilm, correspondence about “Lost Horizon”, “Lost Horizon” biographies, oversized photos of “Lost Horizon,” video collection associated with “Lost Horizon,” and audio cassette collection associated with “Lost Horizon”.
The "Lost Horizon" articles series contains newspaper, magazine and journal articles, as well as book excerpts, related to various "Lost Horizon" subjects, such as production, reception and cast and crew biographies. The "Lost Horizon" various articles series also features articles discussing James Hilton's other works. The “Lost Horizon” documents and research series contains various primary sources such as interviews, scripts, theatre programs and legal documents. The personal effects series contains content related to Ely Bronstein’s personal life such as correspondence and ephemera, though the vast majority of this material relates to “Lost Horizon”. The video collection associated with “Lost Horizon” series contains films based on other works by James Hilton or starring Ronald Colman, as well as information on Frank Capra’s life and his American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. The audio cassette collection associated with “Lost Horizon” series contains various primary sources such as interviews, theatre programs, soundtracks, prayers, and news reports. The next three series contain photographs of “Lost Horizon”, both publicity stills - scenes from the movie -slides, and production photos – pictures taken of the production processes or of members of the production crew. The negatives relating to “Lost Horizon” are reproduced photographic negatives, while the artwork contains movie posters and concept art. The “Helen of Troy” series contains material relating to that film, including articles, documents and publicity stills. The related interest series contains various articles and pictures related to Hollywood and the movie industry, as well as information about California and Tibet. All oversized items requiring larger boxes are included in the oversized items series. Lastly, the "Lost Horizon" microfilm series contains press books and visual representations of the film on 35mm microfilm. The items are all paper photocopies of their original formats, with the exceptions of a few original correspondences, a few original newspaper clippings, the negatives and the microfilm.
