The Allen Lewis Collection, measuring over eight feet, highlights the life and work of an American woodblock artist and engraver. The collection contains major series of biographical, correspondence, manuscripts, artwork, media, and secondary materials. The biographical material is mainly that of his professional career, coming from secondary sources, such as a "Who's Who" article. The correspondence is composed of letters sent to Lewis' mother while he was in Paris (1894-1902) and letters received asking for services (1902- ), with the latter being sparse. The manuscript material contains articles and lecture notes. The bulk of the collection lies in the prints and sketches prepared during his career for book illustrations and periodicals, along with a vast assortment of bookplates, which seem to have been Lewis' mainstay. The sketches and prints number over 1300. The media material complements the prints and sketches, in that they were often the source or means for their production. Included in the photographs and negatives are prints that were used for examples in his work. One such piece would be a young DeWitt Jayne in a tree with his cousin, this print was the grounds for Lewis' illustration for The half-breed and other short stories by Walt Whitman. Examples of woodblocks, linoleum cuts, and engraving plates, along with the tools necessary for their production, accompany the collection. Secondary material features articles, news-clippings, reviews, and other items relating to the work and career of Lewis. The collection contains each monographic work that Lewis is known to have illustrated, except for Walter White's Fire in the Flint, for which Lewis provided the illustration for the jacket, and many of the periodicals.