Subseries I-A: Dayton or Likely Dayton, 1915-1920, circa 1911? - circa 1921

The collection consists of approximately 632 film negatives depicting houses, buildings, churches, historic sites, and architectural details in the United States and Europe. These have been arranged geographically to the best of the archivist's ability to determine. Most dates are taken from the original developing envelopes.

Series I, United States, is subdivided into Subseries I-A: Dayton (or Likely Dayton) and Subseries I-B: Other. The Dayton subseries includes downtown and river scenes, as well as many houses, few of which are identified. At least a few "Schantz houses" (Schantz Park in Oakwood) are included. The Dayton subseries dates probably between 1911 (when Lott returned to Dayton from studying in Paris) until 1921. Subseries I-B: Other contains scenes from a few additional identifiable locations in the United States, including St. Louis and Kansas City; Henry Clay's Ashland estate in Lexington, Kentucky; the Kanawha valley in West Virginia; and California, with dated items ranging from 1917-1921 and others probably from 1915 to 1921.

Series II: Europe, is subdivided according to country, including Greece, Italy (and within that by region: Campania and Sicily), Germany, and England. None of these photos are dated, but they are estimated to be from perhaps as early as the 1909-1911 period when Lott studied in Paris and perhaps as late as 1921 (the latest date found elsewhere in the collection). This series in particular is notable for its images of historical structures and architecture, particularly Greek and Roman styles. Many of the locations were taken from handwritten notations on the original envelopes (many of which are retained in the collection); however, none of the envelopes for the England subseries were labeled, though all were in London-area photo developer envelopes.

Series III: Unidentified consists of similar scenes as the previous two series (houses, churches, and other buildings) but with no way to identify the location. It is likely that many are from Europe, and some may be from the United States (perhaps even Dayton), as well. Some had numeric codes written on the envelopes and nothing else, and these codes have been retained in the description. Items in this series are also assumed to date between as early as 1909 and as late as 1921.

Original enclosures with added information, such as developer envelopes, were also retained in the collection, filed alongside the relevant set of negatives.