The papers of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, were discovered in 1956 by Count and Countess René de Chambrun among a large cache of family archives stored in a tower in the fifteenth century chateau, La Grange, located in the French countryside east of Paris. The count, a descendant of Lafayette's daughter, Virginie, and his wife acquired and restored the chateau, where Lafayette lived from 1799 until his death, and established a private museum there. He organized and described the family archives, a collection dating from 1457 to 1990. The papers that were microfilmed at La Grange in 1995 and 1996 are arranged in three sections: a numbered series of Lafayette papers, Lafayette miscellany, and papers related to the Jarnac and Lasteyrie families. The Numbered Series was filmed in the same order of arrangement established by de Chambrun, whereas the Miscellany Series and the Jarnac-Lasteyrie Papers were filmed alphabetically by topic or name. Headings appear in French in the container list in order to coincide more closely with the original folder headings appearing on the microfilm.

In addition to illuminating the marquis's military, political, and private life, the Lafayette Papers are also a valuable source of information on French and American history of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Subjects covered include Lafayette's involvement in the American Revolution as well as the French revolutions of 1789 and 1830, his imprisonment in Prussian and Austrian jails from 1792 to 1797, and his dealings with French and American political figures and leaders of national liberation movements in other countries. Documents include correspondence, letterbooks, notebooks, memoirs, writings, speeches, family papers, and records of household activities at La Grange. In addition to the papers of Lafayette, other material at La Grange includes the papers of French diplomat Philippe-Ferdinand-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, comte de Jarnac, and his father and grandfather and some papers of the Lasteyrie family, descendants of Lafayette who inhabited the chateau.

The Numbered Series, the largest part of the Lafayette Papers, is organized by topic in a numerical classification scheme devised by de Chambrun. The first part of the series, including folders numbered 1 through 199a, pertains to Lafayette's life in Europe. These files include material from Lafayette's youth and his marriage to Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles. Material relating to Lafayette's life from 1781 to 1830 is arranged topically, but not necessarily chronologically, under headings drawn primarily from major historical events: Revolution, 1789-1794; Consulat-Empire; Restauration, 1815-1830; and Revolution de Juillet, 29-31 July 1830. Lafayette's flight from France in 1792 and his subsequent arrest by the European powers and incarceration in Prussia and Austria are well documented under the heading Les Prisons des Lafayette. The first part of the series also contains records which detail Lafayette's financial activities, his development of La Grange, and the household and personal effects of his family.

In the numerical sequence, the 200s relate to Lafayette's dealings with the United States. These files document his activities in the War for American Independence, his relationship with Americans such as George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and his return trips to the United States in 1784 and 1824 when he toured the country giving speeches and receiving tributes. Additional American material is found throughout the papers. Lafayette's correspondence with Americans after his return from the United States in 1781 can be found in the correspondence in the 100 and 300 sections of the Numbered Series and in the Miscellany. Letters written to members of his family while he was in the United States contain detailed accounts of his activities and can be found in the 300s section. Other sources include handwritten copies of his speeches and drafts of his memoirs.

Additional correspondence filed in the 300s section of the classification consists chiefly of letters to Madame de Lafayette and other family members, but also included are letters to Washington Irving, James Monroe, and General Robert B. Taylor of Virginia. Letterbooks containing copies of correspondence from Lafayette's last years are located in the Miscellany series. The 300s also contain some of Lafayette's writings, including political notes, drafts, and speeches pertaining to the Restoration, the July Revolution, and other topics, as well as papers of his father, Michel Louis Christophe Roch Gilbert Motier, marquis de La Fayette. The 400s contain papers of his children, Anastasie, Virginie, and George Washington Lafayette. The 800s contain records on Lafayette's maintenance of La Grange and his dwellings in Paris and financial records at the end of his life.

Significant and frequent correspondents in Lafayette's papers include John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Simón Bolívar, La Colombe, James Fenimore Cooper, Charles James Fox, John Jay, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Louis XVIII, James Madison, James Monroe, Napoleon I, Thomas Paine, Natalie Lafayette Périer, Louis-Philippe Segúr, Madame de Staël, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Martin Van Buren, Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, George Washington, and Martha Washington.

The main portion of Lafayette's papers is supplemented by the Miscellany series. Items filmed here were not part of de Chambrun's numerical arrangement. Many were on display in the chateau and are important documents which augment those in the Numbered Series. The Miscellany was filmed in an alphabetical arrangement according to such topics as Lafayette's interest in political developments in other countries, his library and archives, correspondence, La Grange and family finances, and political and military activities. Included is a draft, with Lafayette's corrections, of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which Lafayette introduced into the National Assembly in 1789. Other files pertain to his relations with political groups in Poland and South America.

The series of Jarnac-Lasteyrie family material that has been filmed consists primarily of the papers of Philippe-Ferdinand-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, comte de Jarnac, a French diplomat. Philippe de Rohan-Chabot's sister, Olivia, married Lafayette's grandson, Jules de Lasteyrie, creating the link between the Rohan-Chabot and Lafayette families. Most of Philippe's papers date from 1837 to 1848 and cover his service as ambassador to England, his mission to retrieve the body of Napoléon from Saint Helena, and a mission to Egypt. There is also correspondence with the French statesman, François Guizot, and Alphonse de Lamartine. Other files in this series include papers of his grandfather, Guy-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, comte de Jarnac, and his father, Louis Charles Guillaume de Rohan-Chabot, comte de Jarnac, both of whom were exiled in Ireland during the French Revolution. Guy-Auguste de Rohan-Chabot's papers document his service in the army of French princes and his involvement in securing funds for its military campaigns. The papers of Louis Charles Guillaume de Rohan-Chabot primarily concern his career in the British army and include correspondence, reports, and journals during his service with British forces in Canada, 1807-1808. Another segment of this series contains papers of the Lasteyrie family consisting primarily of documents relating to the assistance given by Olivia and Jules de Lasteyrie to members of King Louis Philippe's family during the revolution of 1848.

Descriptive and explanatory material appearing on the folders in the family archives was filmed with the papers. Typed transcriptions were filmed with original items, and framed items were filmed in their frames. A target labeled “Photocopies Omitted” was filmed to indicate the exclusion of photocopies collected by de Chambrun from other repositories holding Lafayette documents. De Chambrun included dates in some of his folder descriptions, but since not all of the folders were dated, span dates that have been supplied for each series of the microfilm edition should be regarded as approximations.