Rauner Special Collections Finding Aids

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

The Dartmouth College Library received the papers of Corey Ford in 1970, the gift of Corey Ford through his will. Prior to his death in 1969, Ford donated several book manuscripts to the Library, and correspondence pertaining to his work continues to come to the Library from Harold Ober Associates, Ford's literary agents, in New York.

Born in New York in 1902, Ford attended Columbia University, where he was editor of the college humor magazine, The Columbia Jester. He began his literary career while still an undergraduate, selling stories and articles to such popular magazines as Vanity Fair and Saturday Evening Post. Ford published his first book, Three Rousing Cheers, in 1925; he followed it with The Gazelle's Ears in 1926, and a best-seller, Salt Water Taffy in 1929. (Some of his early books, written in parody form, were published under a pseudonym, “John Riddell.”) In all, Ford published more than 30 books during his lifetime, and over 500 articles and short stories.

Primarily considered a humorist, some of Ford's finest work was written in a serious vein. Articles concerning game conservation, for example, appeared regularly throughout his life, and he produced four fine novels during his last decade: A Peculiar Service, Where The Sea Breaks Its Back, The Time of Laughter, and Donovan of OSS, the last published posthumously. The Time of Laughter was accorded the best reception in the literary world; it is a description of the humor and personalities of the 1920's. Corey Ford knew most of the humorous characters of that era, and often sat in on the sessions of the famous Algonquin Round Table. He also worked in Hollywood for various periods; one of the funniest chapters of The Time of Laughter describes his friendship with W. C. Fields.

Ford sold his home of twenty years, “Stony Broke,” in Freedom, New Hampshire in 1952, and moved to Hanover. An honorary member of the Class of 1921, his connection with Dartmouth lay mainly in his relationships with students. He was an advisor to Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and to several student publications. In addition, he organized a rugby football club and opened a gym in his home for students interested in boxing.

The Corey Ford Collection occupies 54 boxes, or approximately 135 linear shelf feet, and is composed of book and story manuscripts, several bodies of correspondence, family papers, photographs, legal papers, pamphlets, and much more. Ford's wide range of interests, from Air Force material to sports and travel, are fully reflected in his papers. In addition, smaller “stories” appear within the larger mass of materials. For example, the story of Earthquake McGoon, shot down over French Indochina, appears in the Civil Air Transport (CAT) materials, and the saga of Captain Earl Russell's missing bomber crew is poignantly told within the body of Air Force correspondence. Arctic flier and explorer Bernt Balchen's original manuscript, True North, explores the question of whether or not Admiral Richard Byrd really flew over the South Pole.

The Ford papers are unrestricted, and may be photocopied. Further Corey Ford materials may be seen in Special Collections and in the Dartmouth College Museum.