Frank Chapman Pellett was born on a farm near Atlantic, Iowa. He attended rural schools until a health condition forced him to leave school. In 1902 he moved to Salem, Missouri, where he operated a fruit farm and read law in the office of the Hon. A. D. Gustin. Pellett was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1905 and practiced law in Salem for two years, though he later left his legal practice to devote himself to nature and wildlife. He was appointed Iowa state apiary inspector in 1912. In 1915 Pellett became associated with the American Bee Journal and remained so until his death. He wrote thirteen books on beekeeping, honey plants, horticulture, and other nature subjects. Frank Chapman Pellett has been characterized as a classical naturalist; his accomplishments and honors were many. In 1912 he was appointed Iowa's first state apiarist. In 1947, he received the National Skelly Award for superior achievement in agriculture. He was an honorary vice president of the Apis Club of England, an honorary member of the Bee Kingdom League of Egypt, and a fellow in the Iowa State Horticultural Society, of which he was president for two years. Pellett was also a member of the American Association of Economic Entomologists.

Collection contains biographical information; materials documenting his business affairs; correspondence with apiarists, naturalists, and horticulturists; manuscripts and publications; and photographs of plants and animals. Correspondents include A. Z. Abushady; William Beebe; A. C. Bent; George Bennett, R. K. Bliss; Charles Harvey Brown; Gladstone Hume Cale; R. C. Cratty; Charles F. Curtiss; G. W. Clarke; George S. Dermuth; C. P. Dadant; Sam Edgecome; C. E. Ehinger; Henry Field; H. Malcolm Fraser; Edgar R. Harlan; I. Hopkins; F. N. Howes; Harold D. Hughes; L. A. Kenoyer; Herman Knapp; William Kyburz; John H. Lovell; Thomas H. McBride; G. B. McDonald; John N. Martin; Arthur C. Miller; J. H. Paarmann; F. B. Paddock; Louis H. Pammel; O. Wallace Park; Raymond A. Pearson; James M. Pierce; R. H. Porter; Carl C. Proper; Frank Robinson; A. I., E. R., and H. H. Root; Benjamin F. Shambaugh; Bohumil Shimek; F. W. L. Sladen; Jay Smith; T. C. Stephens; William Trelease; Richard Trump; T. V. Van Hyning; Henry C. Wallace; and Lloyd R. Watson. Photographs are organized into several sections, including amphibians, animals, birds, crustaceans, insects, plants, and reptiles. A small section of miscellaneous photographs depicts buildings, people, and scenic views.