Most of the collection consists of letters to Golśteĭn; there are some as well to her second husband, Vladimir A. Gol'shtein. The materials reflect Gol'shtein ties to Russian liberalism and populism and also to both French and Russian art and literature. There are groups of cataloged letters from Renʹe Arcos (15), Mykhailo Drahomaniv (52), Andrʹe Fontainas (31), Renʹe Ghil (32), Viacheslav Ivanov (17), Petr Lavrov (49), Vladimir Vernadskii (20), and Maksimilian Voloshin (29). There are also items by Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Henri Martin Barzun, Henri Bergson, Ivan Bunin, Sergei Diagilev, Paul Fort, Vladislav Khodasevich, Aristide Maillol, and Odilon Redon. Manuscripts are chiefly by Golśhteĭn, and include her memoirs on Drahomaniv. There are also poems by Voloshin and by Konstantin Bal'mont. Subject files deal with such topics as the Russian famine of 1891-92 and the Russian Liberation Committee at the time of the Civil War. There is a copy of Gol'shtein's book, "Serf Life in Russia."

Correspondence, manuscripts, papers, essays, etc. relating to Berlioz, and 19th century arts and literature. The correspondence includes original Berlioz letters and over 200 copies of letters relating to Berlioz and the romantic era, written by musicians, critics, historians, and literateurs of the past century. There are many photostats of letters and manuscripts obtained from the principal libraries of the world which hold original Berlioz material. The collection includes much printed material in the form of music scores, published letters, essays, clippings, biographies, music and book catalogues, program notes, and playbills.

Correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, notebooks, and publications. The many manuscripts reflect Barzun's interest in poetry, literature and political affairs. The collection also contains materials for the journal, Art et Action which Barzun helped to found; lecture notes, 1933-1952; and a few items pertaining to Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and the Futurists. There are some Barzun family papers, as well. The correspondents are primarily French and American authors including André Breton, Katherine Dreier, Marcel Duchamp, Georges Duhamel, Albert Gleizes, Ivan Goll, Harriet Monroe, Ezra Pound, Pierre Reverdy, Edgar Varèse, Gabriel d'Annunzio, and Felippo Tommaso Marinetti.