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The Biographical materials series contains one folder of personal and family information and one reel of microfilm of a draft manuscript autobiography probably written in the 1920s. The manuscript of about 300 pages provides information about Pond's youth in Ann Arbor; his experiences at the University of Michigan, including scoring the first touchdown for the varsity football team in 1879; and information about various architectural projects and social causes in which he and his brother were involved.

Although Irving Pond was involved with settlement houses and reforms, his interests carried him more deeply into the artistic and literary circles of Chicago. A more prolific writer than Allen, he contributed regularly to the Chicago Literary Club, published several books. He often lectured on art and architecture, and he documented his travels and his career with numerous sketches and watercolors. Irving never lost his childhood fascination with the circus, and in 1937 he published his book Big Top Rhythms on this subject. He was himself an accomplished gymnast, and he saw gymnastics as an art equal to any of the more traditional forms of artistic expression. This series includes most of his extant writings.