The papers of Raymond Fernand Loewy (1893-1986) span the years 1929-1988, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1960-1976. The collection documents Loewy's industrial design work and traces the development of Loewy's company from a small organization to a complex system of interrelated corporations and subsidiaries. The papers include correspondence, financial papers, legal papers, client files, and project files.

The Administrative File contains correspondence, speeches, and writings of the Loewy firms' chief executives, Raymond Loewy, Joseph Lovelace, James Sheridan, and William Snaith. The financial papers include account books, labor and expense analyses, reports, auditor's statements, and tax records. Legal papers consists of the firm's incorporation documents, contracts, patents, and lawsuits. Personnel records contain group insurance material, contract employee data, and biographical sketches of the executives and principal designers associated with Loewy.

The Client File is divided into two sections. The business promotion section documents sales efforts in a wide spectrum of the market from airlines to wine companies. Individual companies as well as general fields are represented. Included are promotional brochures and other material related to public relations endeavors. The established clients section contains primarily invoices and related material and is the only section of the collection in which most of Loewy's clients can be found in one listing.

The Project File is arranged to reflect the ten divisions of Raymond Loewy/William Snaith, Inc., in the 1970s. Projects are listed in each division by the client's name. Papers of key personnel are contained in their respective divisions. The Architectural and Interior Design Division includes some residential clients, such as Ralph Lazarus, but concentrates on business clients such as the well-documented office design project for Datasaab Systems. The chief client represented in the Exhibits and Exhibitions Division is Philadelphia '76, Incorporated. As the coordinator for Philadelphia's bicentennial activities, it engaged the Loewy firm to oversee the building of a multimedia history museum. Extensive records detail the company's involvement with construction subcontractors, exhibit builders, and Imax film producers and the political complications of organizing the exhibit. The Graphics and Corporate Identity Division served clients who wished to enhance their corporate images through name selection and striking logos. A prominent client was the Exxon Corporation, which selected Loewy to design a unified image for several merging oil companies. Another well-known client was the United States Postal Service, for whom Loewy designed the streamlined eagle symbol. The Housing and Home Components Division dealt with clients in the home construction business.

The Market Planning Research Division conducted marketing studies for clients as well as for other divisions of the Loewy company. It conducted the many tests required for the Exxon Corporation project. Another key undertaking of the Market Division was a study of uniform design for the United States Forest Service. The Package Design Division worked closely with the Graphics Division to develop attractive labels for their clients. In addition, it devised the physical package, taking into account the growing awareness of ecological concerns such as biodegradable components. A longstanding client that utilized this division was Nabisco. The Pre-Architectural Programming Division worked with architects, developers, colleges, and cities to devise construction plans that included goal statements, cost and revenue projections, and site studies. The Product Design and Development Division created new or improved designs for items such as cigarette lighters, cough drops, office equipment, and industrial machinery. The Retail Planning and Design Division concentrated on the design of space for maximum sales advantage. It created merchandise arrangements and decorative schemes for Abraham and Straus, Higbee Company, John Wanamaker Company, Sibley, Lindsay and Curr Company, and Woodward and Lothrop. A large portion of the papers in the Transportation Division documents Loewy's association with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Skylab project. Related material can be found with the papers of the subcontractor, Martin-Marietta Corporation. Files of the Transportation Division also contain material on a hydrofoil craft and a supersonic transport developed in a cooperative program with the Soviet Union.

The Miscellany series contains material related to the company's archives, an exhibit of Loewy's designs mounted by the Smithsonian Institution, and newspaper and magazine clippings.