Walter C. Reinhardt collection on W. C. Handy

This collection includes letters from 1943 to 1956 from W. C. Handy to Walter C. Reinhardt. In the two letters from 1943, Handy thanks Reinhardt for contributions to his career and to apologize for any lack of mention of Reinhardt in his autobiography, Father of the Blues. Handy also describes the deterioration of his eyesight and playing "St. Louis Blues" for a film to be shown to soldiers. In the two letters from 1956, Handy also describes his physical ailments, his last performance, legal issues surrounding the ownership of "St. Louis Blues," a "memorial shrine" in his hometown of Florence, Alabama, staging a photograph with President Eisenhower, and various memories with Reinhardt. Other materials include a photograph and sheet music signed by Handy, collected articles about Handy, a report from the Florence (Alabama) Chamber of Commerce on the opening of the W. C. Handy Home and Museum, and a United States postage stamp with Handy's likeness.