The records consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence in two series (one consisting of manuscript correspondence and the other microfilm copies of correspondence), and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings (also available on microfilm). There may be some duplication between the manuscript and microfilmed correspondence, but for the most part, the originals of the microfilmed series are no longer extant. In general, the correspondence reflects the day-to-day business of municipal government. Much of it consists of letters from New Orleans citizens or other individuals seeking information or assistance or the mayor's responses to such letters.

The microfilmed correspondence is arranged alphabetically by subject heading within each of the two years represented by the records. It is unclear whether the subject headings were derived from original folder titles or were artificially created by the librarian(s) who prepared the records for filming. Two of the original rolls of microfilm are currently (9/1997) missing. Also microfilmed is the "Mayor's Cross-file" (e.g., reading file), carbon copies of outgoing correspondence for the period August 1, 1937-August 1, 1938, arranged alphabetically by name of the recipient.

The surviving original correspondence is primarily from the mayor's second term, though a considerable amount of material, especially that dealing with WPA activity in New Orleans, has survived from the 1936-1942 period. This series has been reconstructed from fragments previously unprocessed or dispersed in subject files kept in the Library's Vertical File; it is arranged alphabetically by name of the corporate or individual correspondent or, if marked with clear filing notes, by the subject designated in the note.

The scrapbooks are newspaper clippings covering the years 1936-1945 (the books actually begin with July 1, 1936 and cover the days leading up to Maestri's inauguration on August 17). Each volume is arranged chronologically and is preceded by a typed "table of contents," also arranged chronologically, giving the article's headline (or photograph's caption), the name of the newspaper the article/photograph appeared in, the date, and the scrapbook folio number. In the microfilm edition of the scrapbooks, the tables of contents for all volumes have been combined and filmed as Roll No. 1 of the series.