The fonds consists of administrative papers, blueprints, business and personal correspondence, cable code books and other reference works, export orders and papers, financial documents, insurance papers, legal documents, packaging samples, photographs, plans, printed material, reports, and vessels papers. The material spans 176 years and illustrates a family company passed through two incarnations and through several generations of administration, along with its related off-shoots companies and associations. The material deals with late 19th and early 20 century shipping, as well as the 20th century business of packing and exporting salt fish.

The fonds also contains papers of associated small companies including L.W. Vatcher Limited, and subsidiaries Acadia Fisheries and Smith Canneries, as well as papers from various investment dealings made by Fletcher S. Smith, including Parkdale Realty, Southern Realties, and Fenpark Realties, and agencies with which the Smiths were involved. Finally, the fonds includes various items from small companies including Dan Dauphiney Company Limited, Earle-Smith Partnership, Eastern Fisheries Limited, Fudge Shipping Company, Georgian Limited, Scotia Corporations, Sea Nymph Fisheries, and Smith/Romkey. These papers include correspondence, administrative documents, legal contracts and agreements, financial statements, journals and ledgers.

The records of the fonds demonstrate the organizational structure, management, and operations of A.M. Smith and Company and related organizations, and provide insight into the business of salt fish, from fishing and processing to packing and exportation. The material provides a comprehensive picture of a significant 20th century Nova Scotian enterprise.