The collection covers 8 series comprising material primarily related to the life of William Gano Pierce. The series’ included are correspondence, books, education materials, newspapers, financial and legal material, broadsides, journals, and essays. The series are arranged according to relevance, and organized chronologically within each series. Some material may be located in oversized boxes or elsewhere in the collection.

Much of the material relates to William Gano Pierce’s life in China, including books and broadsides that he picked up while abroad and letters he sent home to his parents, but it also includes material from his brother George, wife Almira, and other materials collected over the course of his life.