The collection includes both personal materials and record collections. The personal materials consist of a photograph of Tovey, two of his personal notebooks containing an inventory of his collection, and miscellaneous magazine clippings; these are located in Box 1. The records include 10" and 12" 78 rpm phonograph records, organized alphabetically by composer. Most of these were a part of Tovey's personal record collection, and include a selection of classical pieces performed by some of the most famous singers, pianists, and orchestras of the early 20th century; some of these records were privately pressed by the artist for Tovey. Also included are records of Asian and Middle Eastern music, as well as folk songs from the period.