The Dirk Bogarde collection includes manuscripts, correspondence, printed material, audio, and other items.

Manuscripts by Bogarde in the collection include his books: A Postillion Struck by Lightning: a Memoir (Holt, 1977); Snakes and Ladders (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979); A Gentle Occupation (Knopf, 1980); Voices in the Garden (Knopf, 1981); An Orderly Man (Knopf, 1983); West of Sunset (Viking, 1984); Backcloth (Viking, 1986); A Particular Friendship (Macmillan, 1990); Jericho (Viking, 1992); Great Meadow: an Evocation (Viking, 1992); A Period of Adjustment (Viking, 1994); A Short Walk from Harrods (Penguin,1994); Cleared for Take-Off (Penguin, 1995); and Closing Ranks (Viking, 1997). Other manuscripts by Bogarde include his screenplay May We Borrow Your Husband?, an adaptation of the Graham Greene short story (1986); a poem titled ‚At Santa Monicaç, on the death of Robin Fox; ‚Notes for Research on Book on Viscontiç; and ‚Coming to Termsç, a short item dictated in 1999.

Manuscripts by others in the collection include Tom Stoppardçs libretto for the Glyndebourne Chorus performance of The Merry Widow at the Royal Festival Hall in July 1993; ‚A Look at a Particular Manç, a thesis on Bogarde by Margaret Christie (1993); a work for the stage titled Saki, by Jeremy Raison (1994); and page proofs of John Coldstreamçs Dirk Bogarde: the Authorised Biography (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2004).

Correspondence in the collection includes letters grouped into specific subjects as well as general correspondence. Subject areas include the film The Night Porter (1974); the J. Arthur Rank Organization (1950s) and Bogardeçs contractual severance from them (1960-1961); his acceptance of an honorary degree from the University of St. Andrews (1984-1985); and publishing correspondence, primarily with Chatto and Windus (1971-1983). General correspondence includes numerous notable figures, including Princess Alexandra of Kent, Richard Attenborough, Alan Ayckbourn, Ingrid Bergman, Ellen Burstyn, Noel Coward, George Cukor, Roald Dahl, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ava Gardner, Judy Garland, John Gielgud, Alec Guinness, Rex Harrison, Olivia de Havilland, Pauline Kael, Nigella Lawson, Alan Jay Lerner, Joshua Lockwood Logan, Henry Moore, Laurence Olivier, Harold Pinter, Charlotte Rampling, Vanessa Redgrave, Alain Resnais, Neil Simon, Antony Snowdon, Tom Stoppard and Luchino Visconti. A significant portion of the correspondence consists of letters between Bogarde and his friend Penelope Mortimer, dating from 1971 through the 1990s.

Audio recordings in the collection consist of readings of Bogardeçs writings on audio cassettes. Titles include Snakes and Ladders, A Gentle Occupation, Voices in the Garden, An Orderly Man, Jericho, Great Meadow, A Period of Adjustment, and A Short Walk from Harrods (read by Bogarde).