The Flisch Collection consists of six manuscript boxes, one rare books box, two medium foldover boxes, and two small foldover boxes (5 cubic feet). It includes personal and professional correspondence, unpublished manuscripts, research notes, photographs and copies of published articles and papers. The documents cover a span of years from 1862 to 1996 with the bulk of the materials from 1882 to 1924.
Series 6, Unpublished Fiction, is the largest of the eight series (3 boxes). None of the manuscripts are dated. A correlation with correspondence from publishers/periodicals can provide some chronological information, but many of the manuscripts appear to have been written, and re-written, over a number of years. Some of the manuscripts have more than one draft and there are fragments which are presumed to be various re-writes.
Series 2, Professional Correspondence, is another large series. It contains letters received in response to manuscripts submitted for publication.
Series 8, Additions Donated by Robin O. Harris, provides background and documentation of Flisch's life and career; works written by Flisch comprises those items published during Flisch's lifetime and ascertained by Harris prior to the compilation of this guide.
Works produced by Harris as a result of her research have been moved to the Robin O. Harris papers.
There are gaps in the papers. Very few personal writings by Flisch are contained in the collection; there are periods of time where no published articles have been found and there are allusions to published works as yet not located; time periods occur where there is no documentation whatsoever of Flisch's whereabouts or vocation. There are also many areas which require further expansion, such as her time at the University of Wisconsin and her reputed participation and apparent orchestration of a county wide teachers strike in Richmond County, Augusta, Georgia.