German translator Elmar Tophoven (1923-1989) is known for his translations of Samuel Beckett and Nouveau Roman writers such as Alain Robbe-Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute and Claude Simon. Starting in the 1960’s, he began to meticulously take notes about his translation process. Elmar Tophoven advocated for this “transparent translating” in order to promote the mutual sharing of experience between translators, to document and analyze the translation process, and to demonstrate that the amount of work and creativity that goes into translating was far from being sufficiently recognized. This endeavor led him and his wife Erika Tophoven to create, organize and curate their own archives. These were recently gathered in the familial home in Straelen, Germany. Translator archives face a number of challenges due to their being insufficiently recognized as worthy of long-term preservation. They are expected to prove their scientific and symbolic value, especially in the case of professional translators. Through the example of the Tophoven archives, we hope to further demonstrate the importance of archival research for translation studies and the general patrimonial value of translator archives.