The Margaret “Peggy” Polson papers date from 1847 to 2021 and measure 6.25 linear feet (15 boxes). The papers are arranged in six series: Personal, Family History, Professional, Virginia Myers, Photographs, and Artifacts.

The Personal series focuses on Polson’s education, activities, and family relations. It includes her Masters and Doctoral theses, a diary, various personal projects, books gifted to her, newspaper clippings, and slides. The series also has two sub series, correspondence, and travel. The correspondence sub-series contains letters to and from Polson from the 1940’s into the 2010’s. It also has letters to and from her grandmother, Georgia Corp, her sister, Marion Polson, and her parents, Ruth and Robert Polson. The travel subseries houses paperwork and keepsakes from Polson’s travels later in life. These include a diary of her trip to China in the 1980’s, several trips facilitated by the Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa, journeys to Ireland and Australia, as well as many small trips within the United States.

The Family History series includes the genealogical information about the Polson family and their ancestors. This covers the histories of the Corp, Metzger, Polson, and Mathison families. The series also has one subseries that focuses entirely on the activities of Ruth and Robert Polson. These materials cover their trip around the globe as well as the legacies the two left throughout their lives.

The Professional series is comprised mostly of information about Polson’s art displays. These range from the 1970’s into the 2000’s and are from her time in Boone, North Carolina and her retirement in Iowa City, Iowa. The series also contains articles by and about Polson as well as her book “Journeys toward and Art Autobiography: Peggy Polson’s Peregrinations”. She also received a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 which is housed here.

The Virginia Myers series includes information about Polson’s friend and mentor from the University of Iowa. Polson collected writen works by or about Myers and recorded personal interactions with the fellow artists.

The Photographs series contains the many photographs taken by and about Polson. These are primarily about her family and friends. There are also a good number of pictures about her artwork and home.

The Artifacts series is comprised mostly of Polson’s print plates. There are four plastic print plates, “The Lily” and three unnamed floral pieces, and two copper ones, “Unfurling” and “Charmed Nautilus”. The series also contains an Appalachian State University Christmas ornament, and Greek Orthodox traveling triptych, framed photographs of Peggy and Marion Polson, and a statement of appreciation from the Appalachian State University Art Department.