The Gumberg Papers are arranged as MEMORABILIA, chronologically-arranged CORRESPONDENCE, and alphabetically-arranged ORGANIZATION RECORDS. As indicated above, much material in the collection bears on developments in Russia. Letters from Americans in Russia, among them Louis Fischer, Spencer William, and Walter Duranty, describe many events. Gumberg's brother, Veniamin Gombarg, vice-president of the Chemical Syndicate, was caught in the internal political and economic crises of the 1930's and the story of his rise, fall, exile, and rehabilitation may be traced through the collection. The correspondence also includes Gumberg's analyses of key Russian political figures and commentary on the Moscow trial, 1936-1938.
Among the prominent correspondents not mentioned above are Louis Adamic, George Barr Baker, Carleton Beals, Margaret Bourke-White, S. R. Bertron, Charles Chaplin, Stuart Chase, J. Reuben Clark, Hugh L. Cooper, Joseph P. Cotton, Donald J. Cowling, J. Alvarez Del Vayo, John Dewey, Kenneth Durant, Sherwood Eddy, Mordecai Ezekiel, Felix Frankfurter, James A. Frear, Lewis Gannett, Clinton Gilbert, S. Parker Gilbert, James P. Goodrich, John P. Gregg, Learned Hand, William Hard, D. Heywood Hardy, Will Hays, Leon Henderson, Sidney Hillman, Maurice Hindus, H.V. Kaltenborn, Rockwell Kent, Freda Kirchwey, Frederick Kuh, Robert M. La Follette, Jr., Charles A. Lindbergh, Walter Lippmann, Kenneth McKellar, Robert E. McCormick, Frances Perkins, Edward A. Ross, Margaret Dreier Robins, Richard B. Scandrett, Jr., Herbert Schachian, John L. Senior, L. A. Serebriakoff, Charles Hadden Smith, Lincoln Steffens, Leopold Stokowski, Thomas D. Thacher, Henrik W. Van Loon, Oswald G. Villard, Allen Wardwell, Burton K. Wheeler, William Allen White, Albert Rhys Williams, Charles Morrow Wilson, and Owen D. Young.
The chronological CORRESPONDENCE also includes two boxes of index cards. It is not known who prepared these cards, neither are they a true index. Rather the cards merely indicate the existence of an exchange in the CORRESPONDENCE series between Gumberg and a particular individual and organization, and for major correspondents, the time span of the correspondence and the general topics discussed.
Two photographs received with the Gumberg Papers were separated to the Gumberg Name File and to the Gorki Name File. Two additional photographs showing exterior views of a Russian Textile Institute ship and her personnel were catalogued as part of the Gumberg Papers at call number PH 3989.
