The bulk of the collection deals with Marie Curie's travels in the United States in 1921 and 1929, as a result of Marie Mattingly Meloney's fundraising campaigns to purchase radium for Curie's experiments. It includes correspondence with, photographs of, and manuscripts and printed material by and about Marie Curie. There is also an academic cap worn by Marie Curie while accepting honorary degrees in the United States, and a watch given to Meloney by Curie.