This series includes 44 journals written by Strother which document his multifaceted career and cover the years 1840-1888. The journals chronicle his time in Europe as a young artist in the 1840s, his travels throughout the United States as a writer and illustrator for Harper's Magazine, his service as a topographer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War, his involvement in operating the Berkeley Springs Hotel, and his work as consul to Mexico from 1878-1885. Entries contain detailed accounts of Strother's daily life, as well as commentary on topics such as politics, art, languages, health, weather, and events of local and national interest. Many journals contain sketches, as well as poems, stories, and transcriptions of song lyrics. A highlight of this series is found in Journal 3, which contains Strother's notes on John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, WV in October 1859.

Strother's Civil War journals have been abridged by Cecil Eby and published as . His journals from his tenure as consul to Mexico have been edited by John Stealey and published as .

This series contains the correspondence and papers of the Strother family covering the years 1778-1925 (bulk 1827-1888). Correspondence includes letters to and from friends, family, and business associates, as well as telegraphs from David Hunter Strother's service in the American Civil War. Topics discussed in correspondence include personal and family matters, business matters, the Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, the military as a profession, education, health, finances, politics, prohibition, art and illustration techniques, D. H. Strother's travels in Italy, John Brown's raid, the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, and D. H. Strother's work as consul to Mexico. Correspondents include various members of the Strother family, John Marshall (U.S. Chief Justice), Alexander Stephens (U.S. Congressman and Vice President of the Confederacy), Edmund P. Hunter (Virginia lawyer and politician), J. E. Heath (U.S. Commissioner of Pensions), Charles J. Faulkner (U.S. Congressman), George W. Mumford (Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia), Howard Sutherland (U.S. Senator), and William Ravenel (Administrative Assistant, Smithsonian Institution).

Personal papers include memoirs, notebooks, sections of diaries, essays, short stories, poems, song lyrics, enlistment documents, military commissions, legal documents (including a land grant and will), diplomas, receipts, account books, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and genealogies of the Strother family and their slaves. Subjects covered in these manuscript materials include religion, education, politics, the War of 1812, the United States Navy, the American Civil War, the Peekskill Military Academy, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, and D. H. Strother's work as consul to Mexico.

This series contains oversize material including prints, drawings, sketches, manuscript materials, and a photograph taken of Strother in Mexico. The artwork is mostly from the 1880s and includes sketches of Strother's time in Mexico and American Civil War scenes. Manuscript material includes letters and a Strother family genealogy. Correspondents include David Hunter, Morgan Tate, John C. Calhoun (South Carolina congressman and U.S. Vice President), H. L. Tucker (Virginia House of Representatives), and Luther Martin (Attorney General of Maryland and delegate to the Constitutional Convention).

This series contains ten sketchbooks depicting the people and places Strother encountered as a correspondent for Harper's Magazine, hotel operator, traveling artist, and consul to Mexico.  Subjects of drawings include log cabins, barns, mills, wagons and coaches, railroad stations, trees, animals, and natural landscapes and features (Warm Springs Ridge, the Potomac River, the Alabama River, and the White Mountains). People rendered in sketches include fishermen, steamship passengers, railroad workers, newsboys, preachers, miners, and various prominent individuals, including Ambrose Burnside, Sitting Bull, John Brown, Shields Green, John Copeland, Aaron Dwight Stevens, and Edwin Coppock.  Places depicted include Berkeley Springs, West Virginia; Harper's Ferry, West Virginia; Martinsburg, West Virginia; Charleston, West Virginia; Arlington, Virginia; Mexico; Jefferson County, West Virginia; Kanawha County, West Virginia; Morgan County, West Virginia; Hampshire County, West Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; Clarke County, Virginia; Yancey County, North Carolina; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Nantucket, Massachusetts.

A highlight of this series is found in Box 15, Folder 3, which includes sketches relating to John Brown's imprisonment, trial, and execution.

This series includes drawings, photographs, and commercial prints by artists other than David Hunter Strother. Artists whose work is included in the series are John Strother (D. H. Strother's son), Ruth Johnson, J. V. Kennedy, and other unidentified artists. Subjects represented in the artwork include structures such as log cabins, churches, bridges, and the Peekskill Military Academy; natural features including the Arno River in Florence, Italy and Blackwater Falls in West Virginia; battle scenes; classical statues; and sketches of men and women in various poses.

This series contains artwork including watercolors, pastels, sketches, and drawings, done by David Hunter Strother throughout his lifetime. Subjects of artwork include landscapes depicting mountains, rivers, oceans, lakes and caves; animals, including horses, cats, dogs, birds, fish, and pigs; structures, including houses, churches, schools, and bridges; ships and boats; the American Civil War; John Brown's raid, imprisonment, trial, and execution; the Mississippi River; the Potomac River; the Indian Head River; and landmarks in Italy, including the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, and the Villa Borghese in Rome. 

People rendered in artwork include fishermen, soldiers, miners, sailors, farmers, train passengers, and Italian peasants. There are also various portraits of women and children. Prominent individuals depicted in artwork include John Brown and Emma Hardinge Britten. 

Places depicted include West Virginia; Virginia; New York; Maryland; North Carolina; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Mexico City; and Florence, Venice, Rome, Bologna, and Vallombrosa, Italy.