This series consists of material pertaining to the overall organization of the Governor's Mansion book (e.g., files associated with the epilogue, appendices, and index); general correspondence concerning the research (1958-1983); material relating to the period prior to the construction of the current Governor's Mansion (1856); and material which does not fit neatly into a particular Governor's administration. Materials date from 1836 to 1984.

Materials are correspondence and publications, dating 1853 to 1983. This series consists of three basic types of materials: correspondence and other original material concerning research on the governor's Mansion and its occupants; printed primary sources relating to the Governor's Mansion and its occupants; and secondary sources on the Governor's Mansion and its occupants.

The original materials document more than two decades of research (ca. 1958-1980) on the Governor's Mansion by former Governor Price Daniel, his wife Jean Houston Daniel, their research assistant Marie Shultz (1961-1962), and co-author Dorothy Blodgett. This includes both incoming letters to the researchers and copies of outgoing letters and memos to various former occupants, their descendants and friends. Also included are audio cassettes and/or typescript copies of interviews conducted primarily by Marie Shultz and Dorothy Blodgett, as well as notes on telephone conversations. The subject matter of these communications ranges from architectural changes in the Mansion, to the social and family lives of the Governors, to negotiations regarding additions to Mrs. Daniel's memento project (the Texas Governor's collection).

Printed primary sources for the history of the Mansion and its occupants include photocopies, photostats, transcripts, and notes of extracts from such things as the General Laws of Texas, the House and Senate Journals (including Governor's Messages), biennial reports of the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, reports of the Texas State Board of Control on expenditures on the Governor's Mansion, Auditors Reports, Election Returns, an Attorney General opinion, a Supreme Court case, etc. Occasionally other types of primary sources--not necessarily printed, but all copies--are included, most notably Mansion inventories. For the more recent governors, there are also invitations and programs for inaugural activities.

Secondary sources include originals, photostats, photocopies, transcripts, and notes from newspaper and magazine articles (both contemporary to the events they describe, and retrospective), books, booklets, pamphlets, and unpublished manuscripts (including chapters from a Master's thesis written in 1967 by Linda Neeley), all concerning the Governor's Mansion and persons who resided therein.

This series includes minutes, summaries of minutes, copies of enabling legislation, reports, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and assorted notes, dating from 1931 to 1983. Materials all emanate from or relate to the various advisory bodies charged with the oversight of the Governor's Mansion, including the following: Board of Mansion Supervisors (1931-1965); Texas Fine Arts Commission (1965-1971); Texas Commission on the Arts and Humanities (1971-1980); and Renovation/Restoration Study Committee (1979-1980).

This series consists of 18 sets (112 sheets) of architects' plans and drawings of the Governor's Mansion. These include historical reconstructions (1856 and 1914), surveys of the existing structure (1936, 1947, 1952, and 1979), and modifications (1947-1948, 1952-1954, 1957, 1962, and 1979-1980). The architectural firms which produced the plans include the Works Progress Administration Historic American Buildings Survey (1936), Jessen, Jessen, Millhouse & Greeven (1947-1948, 1962), Roger L. Erickson (1952-1954, 1957), and Burson, Hendricks & Walls (1979-1980).

In addition, there are a series of smaller floorplans, drawn after the fact, which indicate architectural changes made by various administrations, mainly in the 20th century (1891, 1915-1961, and 1979).

This series consists of photographs (some originals, but mostly copy prints), negatives, and postcards, dating from 1870 to 1983 and depicting the Governor's Mansion, its furnishings, and its occupants. Narrative descriptions are included for many of the images. Some are reproduced from the photo collection of the Texas State Archives, but many more are copies from the collections of other repositories, such as the Austin/Travis County Collection of the Austin History Center.

Also included is a maquette of the Gold Room and downstairs hall, accompanied by photos, drawings, and fabric samples of the accompanying furniture, produced by Miss Grace Fakes, in 1942, and previously located in the files of Miss Ima Hogg. In addition, there is a watercolor rendering of the Mansion exterior, apparently done by Roger Erickson.

Of special interest is a leather-bound scrapbook of 8 x 10-inch photos by photographer Joel Tisdale of the Texas Department of Public Safety, presented to Governor and Mrs. W. Lee O'Daniel by the employees of the DPS on Christmas, 1939. These 40 images include exterior and interior views of the Governor's Mansion, and of the Governor's offices in the Capitol. The Department of Public Safety Photo Collection in the Texas State Archives contains some prints and some negatives which duplicate these images. Mrs. Richard E. Danielson, Jr., daughter of Governor O'Daniel, donated this photo album to the Texas Governor's Mansion Collection on June 12, 1980.