The Bob Douglas Jazz Photograph Collection features black-and-white photography of jazz performances in Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan from the 1940s to the 1990s. Images capture several prominent jazz musicians and singers, such as Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dexter Gordon. It also documents Douglas's professional and exhibit history as well as a portrait of Bob Douglas. The small collection consists largely of prints as well as contact sheets, slides, one negative, exhibit ephemera, multiple drafts of image indexes, Bob Douglas's resume, and a poster.

Robert "Bob" Roscoe Douglas was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1921 to Roscoe A. Douglas, a bank supervisor who died early in life, and Edith Ross. Douglas attended the Henry Ford Trade School for four years and worked at the Ford Motor Company for another four years. Faced with limited career options due to racial discrimination, he taught himself photography and began specializing in nightclub photography, starting in Detroit and then continuing in Los Angeles. His first opportunity as a photojournalist came in 1943 with the Pittsburgh Courier and then later with the Michigan Chronicle to cover social events, sports, fraternity dances, and a large variety of local events.

1.5 linear feet

Copyright status for materials in this collection is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

This collection is open for research use.