Publications, newspapers, and news clippings, 1925 - 1999, bulk: 1944-1981

Series 8: Publications contains periodicals, newspapers, books, newsletters, catalogs, pamphlets and printed religious matter such as holy cards, novenas and prayer books. Also included in Series 8 are magazine articles and un-mounted newspaper clippings. The bulk of the national and international publications documents the career of Mary Lou Williams from 1945-1981 and is particularly strong from 1967 on. The topics include announcements and reviews of personal appearances, record reviews, interviews, and items of general interest. Activities by other musicians are documented either through their participation with Williams or independently; obituaries of jazz notables are scattered throughout the series. Williams also collected newspaper clippings about significant historical events including President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s in 1968.
Williams and O’Brien retained newspapers and newspaper sections and pages from throughout Williams’s career and are particularly prevalent from the 1970s on. They commonly retained several copies of magazines that featured mentions of Williams. Jazz periodicals include Down Beat and the Bulletin du Hot Club de Jazz. General interest magazines include Jet, Ebony, Esquire, Life, and The New Yorker.
The bulk of religious publications are prayers, prayer books, missals, and holy cards purchased by Williams for her own use. Williams added notations on many of these items (additional religious handouts with marginalia can be found in subseries 5.3). The pamphlets, catalogs and newsletters are largely music-related, but some exceptions occur. Many of the books contain inscriptions or marginalia from notable figures or persons close to Williams, including Julian Bond, Pannonica de Koenigswarter, Lorraine Gillespie, Gunther Schuller, and her niece, “Vic” Mickles. Please see the individual scope and contents notes for additional information.