Scope and Content Note
The John D. Reid Papers span the years of 1908-1983, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1935-1964. This collection highlights the musicians of early jazz, the efforts of record collectors to obtain jazz recordings, and John D. Reid’s relationship with Sydney Bechet.
The collection is arranged in three series from largest to smallest extent: Vertical files, Arkansas Arts Center, and Auction/Wanted lists.
Series 1, vertical files, contains newspaper clippings, discographies, promotional material, and photographs documenting jazz musicians, publications, and events.
Series 2, Arkansas Arts Center, contains information on John D. Reid recordings and his research and work to acquire those materials before donating them to the AAC.
Series 3, auction/wanted lists, are newsletters written primarily by record collectors where they list and price recordings from their personal collections they want to sell. The wanted lists are requests from collectors looking for specific records.