Series II. Business Papers contains correspondence, manuscripts, sketches and drawings, printed materials in the form of clippings, ephemera, and serials. Subseries A. Correspondence includes award announcements, many in the form of telegrams, communication with museums and galleries and agents about exhibit arrangements, and letters of congratulations from friends and fellow artists. Fifteen letters, transferred from the Autograph Collection, remain housed together along with a short typescript description of each (Box 3, Folder 1). Most of these letters are addressed to Alice Flint Brooks ( -1926), the manager of the SMFA for twenty years, and concern scheduling and student affairs.

Correspondence from Scrapbook #1 does not necessarily have only business associations; many letters addressing his work are from friends and family. Additionally, the subject of the letters may also be of a more personal nature, for instance, Edward S. Morse extends praise and birthday wishes to Benson in 1923. In 1938, Edmund C. Tarbell died several months before a joint retrospective exhibit with Benson opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Letters of admiration and condolence set to Benson in 1938-1939 were in Scrapbook #2 with ephemera from the exhibit, but have been removed to more stable housing in Business Correspondence.

In a letter dated May 23, 1922, Benson writes to William Wardwell and declares the wash drawing purchased by the latter to be his finest, and that he painted it while salmon fishing during the summer of 1921. A list of names, duties, and wages paid for the guides and assistants on the Bonaventure River trip of 1921 appears with the correspondence from Scrapbook #1. An instance where Benson provides insight into his thoughts on his work is a typescript copy of a letter sent to Mr. Gibb, where Benson states that he learned etching by studying nature, not by studying the methods of producing an etching (Box 3, Folder 2).

An interesting find in this collection is correspondence between Adam E.M. Paff and Houghton Mifflin concerning the costs, profit potential, and contract for the publication of the Paff catalogues, The Etchings and Drypoints of Frank W. Benson. Paff sent these items along with a letter to Benson asking him to keep the documentation of the agreement because he was about to embark for Europe.

Although Benson taught art students for many years, he did not write articles or his memoirs. A rare view into his thoughts on his work is "Advice on Painting from FWB," compiled by his daughter, Eleanor, from the oral critiques he gave her initial forays into painting. Additionally, Subseries B. Manuscripts and Works on Paper includes several drawings and quick sketches, most notably a sketchbook from a trip to Puerto Rico in 1883.

Subseries C. Photographs consists of photographs kept by Benson as reference for new compositions (Scrapbook #3) and as a record of his career (Scrapbooks #1 and #5). Photographs of paintings and etchings appear in many formats and conditions. Many have notations on the verso naming the purchaser of the original. Few of the photographs in the collection are dated. Dates appearing on photographs of paintings are generally the date the work was complete, exhibited, or sold, not the date of the actual photograph. Organization of the prints is based upon subject of the image: wildfowl, portraits, figures, sporting, landscapes, still life, and interiors. Items that are oversize or extremely fragile are housed apart from the subject groupings (see Contents List). One of these items is a mounted engraving with twenty-two signatures of the guests at a banquet hosted by Samuel Shaw to honor Benson for winning the Shaw prize at the Society of American Artists 1896 exhibition (Box 7, Folder 1).

Subseries D. Honors contains honors granted to the artist which are represented in the collection by medals, certificates of award, and an academic hood worn by Benson when granted an honorary degree by Tufts College. Detailed entries in the contents list include date, level of award, granting institution, and the work housed with the medals; however, the list does not correspond directly to the medals in the collection and has been separated. For a more complete listing of the awards granted to Benson, see The Sporting Art of Frank W. Benson by Faith Andrews Bedford (see Bibliography listing).

Subseries E. Financial Records contains two account books, each recording investments and professional accounts, and records of works, which provide details such as title, buyer, price, date and location of completion, date purchased, and location of exhibition. The lists of works are grouped by agent and media.

Clippings, exhibit catalogues, and periodicals provide reproductions, criticism, and biographical information about Benson in Subseries F. Printed Materials. Scrapbook #2 contains clippings and ephemera relating to a joint exhibit with Edward Tarbell in 1938, and obituaries, biographical sketches, and memorial shows for Tarbell and Benson. Ephemera from Scrapbook #1 is mainly comprised of exhibit catalogues and invitations. It also includes an advertisement for a charity raffle which offered prizes of one Benson etching, ten Rhode Island Reds, or eight pairs of silk stockings, to be given May 30, 1922. This subseries also contains many reproductions of Benson paintings and etchings clipped from newspapers, magazines, and catalogues. Most clippings contain at least the title of the work.