The collection consists of articles, lectures, addresses, correspondence, notes, and other research material of Black, a Princeton University professor of history (1946-1970s) who instituted the study of Russian history at Princeton and also taught courses on comparative revolutions and comparative modernization. Included are articles and notes on the history and modernization of Russia, modern world history, the Balkans, Yugoslavia, and George F. Kennan, as well as material relating to the false accusations of espionage against Black by the Bulgarian government in 1945 and the subsequent spy trials, his association with the State Department, and his role as a member of a delegation to observe elections in the U.S.S.R. in 1958, where he met with Nikita Krushchev.

Also present are letters (1936-1953) to his parents, a typed journal (1932-1939), a chronology of his life, a bibliography, a copy of his Harvard thesis, The Beginnings of Constitutional Government in Bulgaria, 1878-1885 (1940), and printed matter containing articles and book reviews by Black.