These files were arranged topically by Kurth, and this arrangement has been retained. The reprint of each article is filed with research collected for it. The major files deal with Bodenstedt and Muhlbach's correspondence with Costenoble, the reception of Muhlbach's novels, Theodor Fontane's letters to Ludwig Pietsch, C.M. Wieland's Agathon, his reception in Germany and America, and Wieland and the French Revolution. There is also one box of Kurth's notes on novel criticism and theory up to 1800 which were the basis for Die zweite Wirklichkeit.

Also included are Dr. Kurth's research files on the historical novel. In connection with the chapter '"La Belle Dame Sans Mercy ..." in European Romanticism: The Revenant in European Romanticism,' Dr. Kurth collected a number of important articles including several on the study of vampires. Photocopies are included in Series 1. Other research material is related to Dr. Kurth's article, "The Reception of Wieland's Agathon in England to appear in the second volume of Wieland Studies. A final item in Series 1 is a copy of a dissertation by Gerd Matthecka, "Die Romantheorie Wielands und Seiner Vorlaufer."