The John Douglas collection is less about Douglas and more about images of Grand Rapids and other places or people of interest. The collection appears to be a sampling of things he has been involved in and found of value.

The bulk of the collection are the slides with around 478 of these of Grand Rapids. The 16 different films currently documented as coming from Douglas are in 16mm format. Limited information on the films is available; most appear to be commercially produced.

There is a wide role of what looks like blank film material labeled “Hard Core Local TV Spots 1 & 2.” This was found with Douglas unprocessed collection materials, and believed to be part of his collection. However, another accession number 1986.343, related to photographs in Coll. 054 for Hard Core, might suggest another original for this film content. Hard Core, the national movie of that title with George C. Scott, was filmed, in part, in Grand Rapids and an association of this item with John Douglas, a film reviewer, is logical but not included in the marking of the item itself.

Of interest is a letter dated 1986, from then Vice President George Bush to Douglas, urging a vote for Republican candidates in the upcoming Michigan Primary.

There is also a small empty check box labeled “Douglas."