The collection includes diaries, bills, documents, ledgers, checkbooks, and account books, relating to Palmer's oystering activities. Also included is a logbook (1897) for the oyster steamer ITHIEL, of which Palmer was master.

Included in the collection are balance statements, checkbooks and cancelled checks, interbanking transactions, ledgers and journals, minutes of directors' meetings, receipts, reports, stock records, tax returns, and records of the bank's activity with the Joseph Lawrence Free Public Hospital. Only a small portion of the material pertains directly to the whaling industry.