The David Ewen Collection consists of materials which pertain to several aspects of music, ranging from composers to opera houses and festivals, as well as his personal life and work. The papers follow the original order established by David Ewen.

The bulk of the collection contains information and some correspondence pertaining to American and foreign composers and serious and popular performers such as George Gershwin, Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Mahler, Maria Callas, Bing Crosby, and other notable 20th century composers and performers.

Born in New York City, Evan H. Rhodes (1929-2010) is a noted Key West-based author who penned many novels over the course of his lifetime, including the novel, The Prince of Central Park, which had been adapted into both a feature-length film and a musical. He graduated from New York University with a Master of Arts degree and then worked as a screen reader for Columbia Pictures and Universal International before settling down in Key West to write novels. He was also a member of the Author's League of America, the NYU Alumni Federation, and the Library of the British Museum and had exhibited his own sculptures at the Washington Square Gallery in New York City.

His papers contain a wide arrange of material documenting his noteworthy literary career, including manuscripts, playscripts, drafts, notes, research files, promotional materials, news clippings, reviews, correspondence, poetry, audio-visual materials, photographs, and ephemera.