Papers consist of two scrapbooks created and maintained by Mary Keegan Shuman, the first president and longtime fundraiser for the Philomatheia Club, a women's auxiliary organization of Boston College. The first scrapbook, "Clippings regarding Philomatheia Club", documents early fundraising activities and social events of the organization. Materials primarily include news clippings, as well as event ephemera, such as fliers and programs. There is also a photograph of the Philomatheia Club officers at a flag-raising event at Boston College (1916).

The second scrapbook, "Mrs. E. A. Shuman's Personal Scrap Book", documents Shuman’s family and her interests in local politics, Massachusetts society, and activities of the Philomatheia Club and Boston College. Subjects include parties and events held at Shuman's Marblehead estate, "Mollhurst"; Philomatheia Club fundraising activities; and women's roles in volunteer and charity work. Materials consist of magazine and newspaper clippings, event ephemera, a small number of letters, and photographic portraits of Shuman, Martha Moore Avery, and Michael Joseph, SJ. Many of the clippings are from the local periodical North Shore Breeze. Also included is an edition of The Working Boy (1890), a quarterly magazine published by the Working Boys' Home, a charitable institution operated by the Xaverian Brothers in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts.