The sixteen scrapbooks that make up this collection reflect the Pingree family and their associates’ business interests in lumber and timber, particularly in Maine. While there are non-business related topics in the scrapbooks, the majority of the contents focus on lumber, timber, related legislation, and people in the lumber industry. Non-business related topics include camping, family members’ achievements, weddings, and funerals. It is not known who created the scrapbooks; some of them appear to have been created from newspaper clippings provided by a clipping service. The news clippings are from newspapers, both local and regional, mostly from Maine and Massachusetts. The scrapbook volumes were given numbers (1-16) for identification purposes when they were processed; the number given to the volume does not reflect when it was created, only in what order it was processed. The scrapbooks have been arranged in chronological order.

Due to deterioration of some of the bindings and pages, some of the scrapbooks are extremely fragile to handle. Volume three cannot be opened all of the way because the pages tear away from the binding. Volume ten’s pages are brittle making it difficult to turn pages. Many of the clippings in volume twelve have become loose, so caution must be used when turning pages. Individuals with sensitivity to mold should use caution when viewing volume fifteen.

There were a number of loose materials found in the back of volume three, and these have been removed to a separate folder and flat file. Of particular interest is a memorandum titled “The Russian Pulpwood Situation”, which can be found in the folder. It discusses pulpwood production and the use of convict labor in Russia; this memorandum is labeled not for publication. Volume ten has handwritten notes and comments about articles throughout the scrapbook. Volume thirteen had a number of loose newspaper articles in the front of it; these have been put in a flat file.