Originally published in German, Italian and French these articles have been translated into English for the first time by the author, the former archivist of The Warburg Institute, London. Aby Warburg's research and writings centred on images, their origins and metamorphoses, and their explanations and interpretations. The articles include discussions of Warburg's academic work with colleagues such as James Loeb, the American Hellenist and philanthropist, and founder of the Loeb Classical Library, and with Josef Strzygowski, the Polish-Austrian art historian of the Vienna School of Art History. Further articles include notes on Warburg's Serpent Ritual lecture of 1923; his politico-cultural initiative in 1914-1915; his work on caricature, in particular the Struwwelpeter topic; and discussions on the topic of Judaica.

The Viennese art historian Fritz Saxl became his trusted friend and collaborator helping to gather Warburg's large collection of books and photographs into the foundation of an academic institution in Hamburg in the 1920s, and then for a second time in London in the 1930s. The Warburg Institute has become one of the world's leading centres of intellectual history.