Max Reinhardt papers

Correspondence and papers of Max Reinhardt, publisher. After managing his parents' import and export business in London, Reinhardt entered the world of publishing by acquiring the firm of H.F.L. (Publishers) Ltd which specialised in accountancy books. He soon founded another company, Max Reinhardt Ltd, to publish works in the field of the theatre and more generally. In 1957 he acquired the long-established firm of John Lane The Bodley Head from Allen and Unwin. Graham Greene, whose works Reinhardt published, became a director of the firm and a personal friend. Over the years The Bodley Head formed associations with several other companies until being taken over by Random House in 1987. Reinhardt resigned from the company at this point and founded his own company, Reinhardt Books, which forged links with Penguin Books for marketing and other common services, before being taken over completely by Viking Penguin.

The majority of the collection consists of correspondence conducted by Max Reinhardt in his business or personal capacity, outgoing correspondence largely being copies. There is also correspondence between staff of his various publishing companies within and beyond their companies and memoranda, reports, contracts, etc.

British Library arrangement, based on the contents of the files as received by the Library. Typewritten leaves briefly describing the contents of some of the files are retained at the end of the relevant files.

Unrestricted

Gift of Mrs Joan Reinhardt, wife of Max Reinhardt, Aug 2010.

Biographical details of Reinhardt's life have been published in Judith Adamson, Max Reinhardt: a life in publishing (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and in Max Reinhardt, Memories (privately published, 1998).