The Paul Eduard Miller papers consist of typescripts of his published and unpublished writings, including Down Beat’s Yearbook of Swing (1938), his own Miller’s Yearbook of Popular Music (1943) and the Esquire Jazz Book for 1944 and 1946. In addition there are versions of Miller’s attempts to write a canon-defining book on jazz: “Testimonial to Jazz,” (1936) and a later undated typescript “The Best Jazz” in which Miller discusses and rates musicians and recordings. Also present are radio scripts for his radio program “This Is Jazz” on WXRT-FM for the year 1948, and playlists for “This Is Jazz” and “Classics of Jazz” for January–June 1950. Other materials donated include photographs, sound recordings, a small amount of early 20^th century sheet music, and copies of his publications.

The collection of photographs is fairly substantial, dating from circa 1907 to 1955, and undated, with the bulk dated from the mid-1940s. The analog sound recordings, including 78s, 45s and 33-1/3 LPs, focus on earlier jazz performers; of particular interest are the 1946–1947 Sidney Bechet recordings.