Correspondence, research materials, articles, clippings, pamphlets, publications, works, photographs, and microfilm relating to Eugene V. Debs and to writing and publishing Brommel's biography of Debs.

The first part of the collection is material assembled by Brommel for the writing of articles and the book on Debs. This includes correspondence with people (most notably author and Socialist Upton Sinclair) and repositories with Debs materials, with publishers to find a means to publish the book, research notes (consisting of photocopies of original letters and documents, handwritten and typewritten notes, and typed and handwritten transcripts of Debs speeches and newspaper articles), and collected transcripts and letters of contacts' personal recollections of Debs, focusing on his style of giving speeches. This section also includes materials relating to the Eugene V. Debs Foundation, with which Brommel was involved, and the Foundation's activities in opening Debs' Terre Haute home as a museum and resource center. Brommel's dissertation, manuscript for the book, and assorted articles are at the end of this section.

The second grouping of materials are primary sources about Debs himself, including correspondence, works, and miscellanea. Essays by Debs printed in brochures, pamphlets, and newspapers during his life were collected by Brommel, and because of Brommel's close association with Debs' niece Marguerite Debs Cooper, these materials may have been once owned by Debs himself. This group includes an interesting letter to Theodore Debs from Bartolomeo Vanzetti, of the infamous Sacco-Vanzetti case, written two months before Sacco and Vanzetti were executed by electric chair on August 23, 1927. The collection also contains photographs, both originals and photoreproductions, many of which were reproduced in Brommel's book.

The third grouping of materials contains correspondence, photographs, datebooks, and professional documents pertaining to the life and career of Brommel. This grouping contains extensive correspondence between Brommel and his former school teacher beginning in 1958, Grace Laird. Laird taught for decades in Iowa and maintained a strong friendship with Brommel and an interest in his career. They remained in close contact until her death in 1991. Collection also contains Laird's biographical information, diaries, and diplomas.

There are also three appendices attached to this guide: The first is a list of 5 microfilm reels Brommel obtained of Debs scrapbooks (clippings and correspondence), the originals of which are owned by New York University, Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. The second is a list of 76 books and booklets that came in with the collection, and are cataloged separately and available in the Newberry Library under their specific call numbers (see the Newberry online catalog for access). The third appendix is a list of 23 books and booklets already owned by the Newberry Library and deaccessioned (call numbers for the books owned by the Newberry are indicated).