A collaborative effort between Fiske Kimball and Lionello Venturi, art historian at the University of Rome, the highlight of this book is its high-quality color reproductions done by the Beck Engraving Company. Venturi primarily drafted the descriptions accompanying these reproductions, and Coward-McCann published the book in 1948. With the exception of Kimball's manuscript of the introduction and captions, most of the documentation is correspondence. In addition to Kimball's correspondents with his publisher, collaborator and engraver, other files pertain to distributing copies of the book, particularly to the museums whose holdings were featured in the study.