This collection consists of photographs, negatives, and contact sheets that document much of RCA’s history and activities. The collection spans the history of radio, television, communications, and consumer electronics, along with many additional technical achievements pioneered by RCA. Many of the photographs are accompanied by short news briefings or captions associated with the subject of the photo. Numerous events are also documented, such as corporate meetings, award ceremonies, product and technology demonstrations, celebrations, and World’s Fairs.

The collection is arranged into ten series: Early Radio, Radio Broadcasting 1920s - 1940s, Consumer Electronics 1920s - 1980s, Television History 1920s - 1980s, General Electric Co. 1917-1930, RCA Communications 1920s-1940s, RCA Labs R&D 1920s-1970s, RCA Divisions (excluding RCA Labs), RCA Labs 1960s-1980s, and Carl Byoir & Associates.

The Early Radio series contains photographs that document the history of radio, which includes photographs of early pioneers, Guglielmo Marconi, Dr. Lee deForest, John Ambrose Fleming, and Reginald Fessenden. Also included are photographs of some early radio stations.

The series, Radio Broadcasting 1920s- =1940s, contains photographs of early radio stations, performers and personalities, including conductor Arturo Toscanini.

The Consumer Electronics 1920s-1980s series contains photographs of radio receivers and marketing materials, particularly for RCA Radiola receivers. One folder of cassette players and recorders from the 1970s and 1980s is also featured.

The series, Television History 1920s-1980s, features photographs of television cameras and receivers, from both the black-and-white and color eras. The series also contains photographs that document television research and development, manufacturing, and transmission.

The General Electric Co. 1917-1930 series contains photographs of a variety of electron tubes from this period.

The series, RCA Communications 1920s-1940s, features photographs of the Rocky Point, New York transmission station, ship-to-shore wireless, and examples of facsimile transmission.

The RCA Labs R&D 1920s-1970s series contains photographs documenting the research and development of various technologies, such as computer memory, lasers, and electron tubes. Photographs of the David Sarnoff Research Center are found in the folder Public Relations, while another folder contains photographs from the Riverhead, Long Island laboratory.

The series, RCA Divisions (excluding RCA Labs), contains examples of the activities carried out at many of RCA’s divisions across the United States and internationally. Well represented divisions include, RCA Astro-Electronics, RCA Missile and Surface Radar, and RCA Victor, although many other divisions are also found in this series. Particularly well documented subjects include microwave communications, microwave radar, satellite and space programs, and missile weapon systems.

The RCA Labs 1960s-1980s series contains photographs documenting the research and development of various technologies, such as television and video cameras, computers and computer memory, lasers, microwaves, radar, solar energy, solid state technology, and television picture tubes.

The series, Carl Byoir & Associates, is divided into two subseries: Negatives, and Prints and Contact Sheets.

The Negatives subseries is a large set of corporate public relations negatives documenting a diverse range of RCA activity. Prominent themes are corporate meetings and publicity events, many of which feature David Sarnoff. Numerous projects, products, and other activities related to RCA are shown, including work on the Apollo program and communications satellites, trade shows, documentation of manufacturing processes and technical research, and promotional material featuring consumer electronics or their components. RCA’s participation in the 1964 New York World’s Fair is also featured. Additional events, such as award dinners, birthday celebrations, and other occasions significant to David or Lizette Sarnoff, or their son Robert, are also represented.

The Prints and Contact Sheets subseries contains photographs and negative contact sheets that represent a small subset of the images found in the Negatives subseries. Photographs include such diverse subjects as, the Viking and Explorer spacecraft, avionics systems, CB radio, video games, video tape recording, the TIROS-N weather satellite, television sets, parts, and manufacturing, and Videodisc. RCA divisions and locations represented include, Automated Systems Division, Burlington, Massachusetts; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Solid State Division; Astro & Electronics Division, Moorestown, New Jersey; Astro-Electronics, Hightstown, New Jersey; Indianapolis, Indiana; Scranton, Pennsylvania; Hertz Car Rental; Mountain Top, Pennsylvania; Bloomington, Indiana; Circleville, Ohio; and the Government Services Division. Some noteworthy RCA personal included are, James Hillier, Roy Pollack, and Anthony Lee Conrad, as well as several celebrities, such as John Denver, Tony Bennett, Arthur Ashe.