The Dorrs' collection contained more than 3,000 pieces of campaign paraphernalia, and had become a lifelong passion for the couple. Carl Dorr recounted one of his revelatory experiences upon finding a forgotten piece in the December, 1961 issue of the Courier

Dorr remembered stopping at a small wayside inn in New England for lunch. "As is so often the case," he said, "the dining room of the old establishment was decorated with antiques and oddities of various vintages offered for sale... As I stepped up to the cashier to pay the bill, I glanced over her shoulder and espied something hanging on the wall behind her which froze me in my tracks."

Dorr asked if the object was for sale, and received a somewhat indifferent response from the inn's proprietors. As a result, for a "modest price," Dorr acquired a pewter-rimmed campaign insignia of John Adams, the second president of the United States.

Such serendipitous finds allowed the couple to amass their notable collection, which they donated to the university as a resource for future scholars. "In making this collection accessible to all who come here to study in the great years ahead, we have acquired for ourselves the second half of the pleasure of collecting, and our measure of happiness is now complete."

Campaign memorabilia from the Lincoln presidential campaign in 1864 is representative of the kind of materials found in the Dorr collection.