This study explored the citation of pre-1960 literature in a body of contemporary accounting research. In a database of nearly 11,000 citations from 428 source articles, 117 pre-1960 accounting citations were identified. From the set of 413 nonhistorical articles, forty pre-1960 accounting citations were found. This study also examined the breadth of coverage of these citations and their distribution among journals. The results showed that many pre-1960 accounting documents traditionally considered important were not cited. This result may be useful to accounting historians by helping them to identify early research traditions that are in danger of being forgotten by nonhistorians
