The Helen Baker Cushman picture collection consists of two parts. The first is composed of miscellaneous illustrations and printed information (8 x 10 inch inches or smaller) which are arranged by subject and chronology; the second part is a collection of advertising trade cards and a small 4 x 6 inch research file that Cushman accumulated about world fairs. The subjects covered in the first part include automobiles, aviation, banks, baseball, books, famous buildings, calendar art, calligraphy, carpets, cities, Civil War generals, fashion, fishing, flags, golf, industrial history, insurance, kitchens, military equipment, portraits of United States presidents, Panama Canal, printing history, Statue of Liberty, stock certidicates, U.S. Navy ships and ordnance, among other topics. The cities are represented by nineteenth century French prints dated 1864. Graphic materials and printed information relating to clothing and fashion are especially plentiful in this part of the collection. Many types of clothing are illustrated: military uniforms, formal dress, bathing suits, and childrens clothing among others. A number of portraits of unidentified women and children are also in the fashion files. Most of these date to the late nineteenth century. A large number of maps from the early twentieth century are also part of the collection, the majority of which feature the United States in 1902.

The largest part of the collection is the chronological file, with miscellaneous images arranged by year, starting with "Before 1700." These cover a multitude of subjects, but especially contain items showing fashions, transportation, houses, public buildings, U.S. presidents and First Ladies, current events, inventions, entertainment, and housekeeping. A number of the folders also contain images and information about world fairs and other expositions held in the United States.

The trade cards that Cushman collected have been organized by the business type that distributed each card. The following are represented: agricultural, agricultural machinery and fertilizer; beverages; clothing and dry good stores; cosmetics and perfumes; coal and other fuel; entertainment and recreation; food and grocery; furniture and floor coverings; hair products; hardware; holidays (birthday, Christmas, Easter, New Year's, Valentine's Day); insurance; clocks, watches and jewelry; kitchen; laundry and starch; lighting; machinery; musical instruments; paint and wallpaper; patent medicines; printing and stationery; religious items; rewards of merit; sewing machines; shoes and shoe polish; soaps, glues and other chemicals; stoves, ovens, ranges; thread; tobacco; toys, dolls and games; transportation. Another group includes cards with African American images--some of them with racist subjects.

The small research files on world fairs include mostly research notes, but there are a few pieces of original ephemera. Call slips from the New York Public Library, microfiche, and postcards make up the balance of this portion of the Cushman collection. The files are organized alphabetically by place name and include both American and foreign exhibitions. An interesting aspect of her research notes is the compiled lists of exhibiting companies that still existed at the time of her research (approximately 1970). The New York World's Fair of 1939 is perhaps best represented with a small selection of matchbook covers and postcards including one showing the transparent car at the General Motors Building.