The `Business and legal papers` series of the Archive is made up of documents that provide a record of the production side of the publishing house : the inception of the publishing process (Manuscript Books; agreements, copyright, etc.); the cost and method of production (Estimate Books, Production Expenses Books, Stock Books, Commission Books, Sales Subscription Lists, etc.), and the sale of the publications (Customer Ledgers, Trade Catalogues, etc.).

The series includes documents concerning the general administration of the business (apprenticeships and partnerships; properties, and business administration costs). Also included are papers concerning court cases and disputes over various publications.

The series does not hold all of the papers concerning the administration of the business, but certainly the bulk of them, including the extant business ledgers. It is not unusual to find certain types of business papers - i.e. agreements, copyright receipts, production estimates - among the papers of particular people within the Archive, especially in the subseries `Incoming correspondence` and the `Correspondence of or concerning authors published by John Murray, with related manuscripts`.