The collection contains items, which belonged to or were collected by Harold C. Cox during his time as a student at Virginia Agriculture and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute from 1922-1926, and his continued experiences with the university as alumnus, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s.

The photograph collection at Special Collections and University Archives consists primarily of historical photographs of Virginia Tech, dating back to the 1890s. The collection is also home to historic images of Blacksburg, Montgomery County, the New River Valley, and Southwest Virginia in general. A photograph collection of faculty and staff from the university is maintained separately.

This scrapbook contains photographs and memorabilia dating 1918-1926 from United States Military Academy (West Point) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) by Bertram A. Holtzworth, who attended VPI before graduating from West Point in 1927. He served in the U.S. Army from his time as a cadet at West Point until his retirement as Major General in 1963.

The Named/Individual Photograph Collections include images from alumni and former faculty and staff, or individuals with ties to campus and the New River Valley. Collections (c.1890-present) depict campus life and events, railroad history, agricultural extension research, Blacksburg and surrounding areas, and some local families.

The collection contains 102 letters from Joseph F. Ware to his wife, Susie, in Blacksburg, Virginia, while he was serving overseas during and after World War I. The other significant portion of this collection contains nearly 200 photographs.