The only actual artifact in this small collection is a small (15 x 11 x 4") aluminum suitcase which contained all of the papers in this collection when it was donated to USC some years ago. Unfortunately, accession records for this collection do not exist and the exact provenance of the papers is unclear. Based on the correspondence and the photographs, it appears as though these materials were saved by Ernestine Herbert, William's mother, but because most of it centers around William, it appears that the sons may have split up their mother's papers after she died. The aluminum case is not rusty except for the hinges, but it is scratched and dented and obviously many decades old.