The Historical Papers collection contains materials that document the formation and subsequent years of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection and preserves correspondence and related documents from notable scholars, especially in the field of Byzantine studies, including:
- John C. Baker (1895–1999): “Harvard at Dumbarton Oaks,” April 20, 1943
- Otto Demus (1902–1990): Papers and San Marco Mosaics Project Papers and Corpus of North Adriatic Mosaics Papers
- Sirarpie Der Nersessian (1896–1989): Papers and Photographs
- Francis Dvornik (1893–1975): Papers and Images
- Henri Focillon (1881–1943): Papers
- Albert Mathias Friend, Jr. (1894–1956): Papers
- André Grabar (1896–1990): Papers
- Henri Grégoire (1881–1964): Papers
- Romilly Jenkins (1907–1969): Papers
- Ernst Kitzinger (1912–2003): Papers
- Edward Kennard Rand (1871–1945): Papers
- Marc Rosenberg (1852–1930): Papers
- Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev (1867–1953): Research Papers
- Alexander Alexandrovich Vasiliev (1867-1953): Office Papers
- Kurt Weitzmann (1904–1993): Papers
The Historical Papers collection also holds research on the history of Dumbarton Oaks and its property undertaken in 1955–58 by the genealogists Meredith B. Colket, Jr. (1912–1985) and Peter G. van der Poel.