The Valentine Bargmann Papers consists of personal and professional correspondence, personal papers, awards, medals, lectures notes, drafts and published writing, and documents pertaining to the Einstein Papers Project. The bulk of the writings consists of notebooks and lectures notes containing some text but mainly pages of mathematical equations. Letters from family and friends in Germany constitute much of the early correspondence. Letters dating from the period of Bargmann's tenure as a professor at Princeton primarily come from colleagues and friends, while correspondence dated after 1976, when he became Professor Emeritus, often relates to awards and honors he received. Some of Bargmann's personal papers and effects, including his birth certificate, naturalization papers, and medals, are also included. In addition, the collection contains a sizable number of reprints of Bargmann's essays, plus several Albert Einstein reprints.

This collection also contains documents collected by Bargmann during the course of his work on the editorial advisory board of the Einstein Papers Project. Included here are annotated typescripts of the first two volumes of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, correspondence between the board members, and copies of Einstein-related documents that were likely selected for inclusion in the project.