The archive contains a collection of about 30,000 photographs assembled by the Dutch art historian Raimond Van Marle (1887-1936), and a small section of notes and autograph annotations largely related to the publication of the volumes of his book The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting. The original archive was expanded by adding items that belonged to Eugenio Ventura (1887-1949), a Florentine antiquarian who bought Van Marle's photographic collection after his death. The archive thus also includes photographic and documentary materials, such as letters and valuations related to Ventura's business as an art dealer.