This collection is comprised of correspondence, publications, writings, listings, directories, manuscripts, photographs, and research material for the Powers publication on Texas art and artists, titled, "Texas Painters, Sculptors & Graphic Artists: A Biographical Dictionary of Artists in Texas Before 1942", Austin, TX: Woodmont Books, 2000. The collection is primarily photocopies and writings of the Powers with some published materials.

The original order has been maintained as much as possible. Correspondence is dispersed throughout the collection with most concentrated in box 1. Those artists with significant information have been given a single file. The artists' information files are arranged in alphabetical order by artist's last name and are inclusive of all artists within the alphabetical listing. Each of these files begins with one artist and ends with the last artist information in the file. Artists' information can consist of one news item to several pages of information. To find an artist's name not listed on the file, please look at the file where his name would be in the alphabet.

This collection consists of two large leather account books from the old store owned and operated by David Verplank Ackerman and James McMiller that was at Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas. The account book labeled "ledger" [box 1] dates from 1855 to 1865 and lists the accounts of individuals while the other one labeled "journal" [box 2] records the chronological expenses beginning in April 1854 and ending in January 1861.