Although the papers range from 1831-1939, the bulk of the materials concern the mercantile activities of Richard P. Waters and his brother, John G. Waters at Zanzibar and Madagascar in the 1830s and 1840s. The collection has been divided into three series: Shipping Papers, Consular Papers, and Personal and Miscellaneous Papers.

Series I. Shipping Papers include ships papers, correspondence, contracts, account books, bills, and receipts. Ships papers are those of vessels owned or mastered by Richard P. or John G. Waters (see Appendix I). They document the lucrative trade that Waters conducted at Zanzibar on behalf of Salem merchants, particularly David Pingree and George and Benjamin West. Miscellaneous ships papers include the protests of ship Edward and brigs Formidable and Margaret Oakley. The papers of bark Malay (1842) document the loss of the vessel at Mozambique and the request of the American ships crew for passage back to the United States.

The shipping correspondence provides further documentation of trade conducted on behalf of Salem merchants. A number of letters from Pingree and the Wests are located here as well as letters from Vincent Marks, an agent at Majunga. Correspondence between Waters and Said Bin Sultan of Muscat reveals the degree of intimacy reached between the two men and the extent of their common business affairs. Letters between Richard P. Waters and John G. Waters contain business information as well as personal discussions. A few personal letters are located in this section including three lengthy letters from Dr. L. Krapf, a Christian missionary at Mombasa, Kenya. All untranslated letters in Arabic are located in this section. The papers of Norsworthy and Botsford document the dissolution of a merchant house at Zanzibar.

Series II. Consular Papers include a number of administrative materials sent between Waters and the U.S. Department of State, as well as diplomatic correspondence with His Highness Said Bin Sultan. A dispatch signed by U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster regarding trade on the East Coast of Africa is also located in the Consular Correspondence. Drafts of agreements for the management of trade between Queen Victoria of England (1839), an Admiral Bagoche (Governor of Bourbon, 1843), the United States (undated) and Said Bin Sultan are located in the "Treaties" section. Consular Returns are lists of arrivals and departures that specify other ports of call, number of crew members and values and types of cargoes landed for each vessel.

Series III. Personal and Miscellaneous Papers include Waters' personal journals and his notebook. This material describes in detail Waters' deeply rooted religious convictions and his relations with the Sultan. The Memoranda/notes file contains travelogue descriptions of Zanzibar, an incomplete Waters Family genealogy, and notes on "Packing Zanzibar Oranges for Bombay." The Social Debating Society Minutes provide interesting insights on the opinions of Salem residents on a number of contemporaneous social and political issues. In the Printed matter file is a published biography of Waters and a group of newspapers including issues of The Congregationalist and Boston Museum. David P. Waters' hunting notebooks describe his annual hunting trips to Nova Scotia. A map of the city of Kabul, Afghanistan is located in the oversized box.