The Kuhl Paers comprehensively document the life of a university professor, involved in teaching and research, confronting the changing academic atmoshere and the bureaucratic problems of institutions of higher education. A large part of the collection consists of correspondence to Kuhl from fellow scholars and students, including most of the important Chaucer and Shakespeare scholars who, with Kuhl, laid the groundwork for 20th century Medieval and Renaissance studies. The collection also includes a book length manuscript concerning the historical context of Shakespearean drama and the role of Shakespeare within his own epoch. Kuhl's letters to his family (1960--1974) disclose the alert, sensitive erudition cultivated during eight decades of academic activity.