Collection of Zanzibar Trade Documents contains correspondence, photographs, contracts, and two Arabic manuscript volumes. The material included in this collection is chiefly related to trade and diplomatic relations between the United States and the Sultanate of Zanzibar in the 19th century.

Correspondence relates primarily to the trade relationships between Zanzibar officials and Salem-based ship captains. Most pieces of correspondence are in Arabic without English translation. A few letters have English translations contemporary to the Arabic writing. One piece of correspondence has a 21st century translation. A contract related to trade in the city of Mokha and a customs house clearing paper in Constantinople are also included.

Materials related to the U.S. Consul in Zanzibar include: a typewritten listing of U.S. Consuls in Africa and the Middle East probably dating to the 1910's; a 1905 listing of each of the Zanzibar Sultans; a piece of correspondence written in English from Said bin Sultan to Charles Ward, U.S. Consul in Zanzibar from 1845-1850; and two photographs: one of western merchants, Zanzibar merchants, and slaves; and one of a "Maharaja" and his family dated to 1882.

The first volume is written in Arabic without translation. The second is an 1839 hand-written copy made of an earlier work (dated Mahomedan year 504) on Islamic law written in poetic verse. The volume is annotated in Arabic and has some water damage.

A folder contains a photograph of an exhibit of pepper weights in the Peabody Museum's Maritime Hall and a 1954 list of Zanzibar-related materials donated to the museum.