Begun in 1927 by University of Oklahoma history professor Edward Everett Dale, the Western History Collections gathers and preserves rare research materials for scholars in anthropology, Native American studies, Oklahoma history, and the history of the American West. This invaluable reference tool has been compiled to make the collections more accessible and to honor the collections' 75-year Diamond Jubilee.

The guide describes more than 1,500 manuscript collections, including papers from pioneers, artists, politicians, educators, businessmen, authors, anthropologists, and Native American leaders. Manuscript subjects include the Five Civilized Tribes; pioneer and frontier life; missionary activities in Indian Territory; cowboys and the range cattle industry; Oklahoma's petroleum industry; and the history of railroads and transportation in the West. Recent acquisitions include the papers of Wilma P. Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Begun in 1927 by University of Oklahoma history professor Edward Everett Dale, the Western History Collections gathers and preserves rare research materials for scholars in anthropology, Native American studies, Oklahoma history, and the history of the American West. This guide has been compiled to make the photographs in the collections more accessible. The second edition adds descriptions of 165 new collections comprising 159,000 photographs.
The 826 photograph collections that this guide thus details encompass Native American culture; frontier and pioneer life in Oklahoma and Indian territories; Wild West shows; the range cattle industry; the petroleum industry; and gunfighters, outlaws, and lawmen. New additions include the Lucille Clough Collection of 1,800 prints, postcards, and stereograph cards of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and First Peoples of Canada.