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This series consists chiefly of five diaries left by Muriel McCormick, dated from 1937 to 1947. They follow her time as a high school student in Stamford, Connecticut, a young adult working in Washington, D.C., a staff member of the United States embassy in Paris, France, and then as a newlywed woman back in the U.S. Among the everyday details of her life are discussions about her aspirations, relationships, hobbies, and travels, as well as national or international news. Two of the diaries had photographs tucked inside the pages, but they have been removed and housed with the photograph series. Although the earliest diary has some water damage, the others are in fairly good condition. Additionally, the series includes an undated envelope which Muriel presumably used to send photographs to a studio for development after her time in Europe.

The collection also includes a large series of photographs. The majority of the series is arranged chronologically to trace Muriel McCormick's journey from Connecticut to Washington, D.C., to Paris and back to the U. S. While stationed at the embassy in Paris for over a year, she made several trips throughout Western Europe, taking hundreds of photographs of the places she visited. She labeled many of her photographs meticulously with dates and locations, but there is still a large group of unidentified landscapes that can be found here. When traveling as a tourist, she often also purchased packaged sets of souvenir images which are included throughout the series. Lastly, there are dozens of photographs with people as their main subjects. These include pictures of Muriel, her eventual husband, Ramon Hall, their families, and friends.