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Harrison Ford Papers: Finding Aid
mssFord Harrison papers  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Overview of the Collection
  • Access
  • Administrative Information
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • Indexing Terms

  • Overview of the Collection

    Title: Harrison Ford Papers
    Dates (inclusive): 1904-1954
    Collection Number: mssFord Harrison papers
    Creator: Ford, Harrison, 1894-1957.
    Extent: 212 items in 1 box
    Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
    1151 Oxford Road
    San Marino, California 91108
    Phone: (626) 405-2129
    Email: reference@huntington.org
    URL: http://www.huntington.org
    Abstract: This collection contains the papers of silent film and stage actor Harrison Ford (1884-1957). The majority of the material relates to Ford’s finances, and includes correspondence with and documents of the Internal Revenue Service, receipts, personal account ledgers, expense books, one contract, and state tax documents from New York.
    Language: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Administrative Information

    Publication Rights

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. Harrison Ford Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Gift of Hedy Murman, February 20, 1991.

    Cataloger's Note

    The Library of Congress Authority heading for Harrison Ford gives his birth year as 1894, though the cataloger’s research suggests that he was in fact born in 1884. The earlier birth date better corresponds with the facts of Ford’s career trajectory, particularly his Broadway debut as an adult in 1904.

    Biographical Note

    Harrison Ford (1884-1957) was a leading American actor in silent film and on Broadway. Ford began his acting career on Broadway in 1904, and in 1915 moved to Hollywood, California, where he spent nineteen years acting in silent films. In 1934, Ford returned to the stage, performing at the Pasadena Playhouse and Little Theater of the Verdugos in Glendale, California. Ford was hit by a car in front of his house in Glendale in 1951 and never recovered fully from the injuries he sustained in the accident. He died in 1957.

    Scope and Content

    This collection contains the papers of silent film and stage actor Harrison Ford. The majority of the material relates to Ford’s finances, and includes correspondence with and documents of the Internal Revenue Service, receipts, personal account ledgers, expense books, one contract, and state tax documents from New York. It also contains tax-related receipts from Ford’s employers stating the amount he earned for the fiscal year and fiscal-related correspondence with his attorney, Claude I. Parker. There is some correspondence related to the casting and players associations of which he was a member, in both California and New York, as well as some personal correspondence including a series of letters from a Mrs. G. P. G. of San Francisco, California. The artifacts include a photograph in a frame (possibly of Ford), a seal, six Forest Service buttons, and a small tin containing four small miscellaneous items including charms.

    Arrangement

    Arranged by item type.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

    Subjects

    Actors -- California -- Los Angeles.
    Actors -- New York (State) -- New York.
    Motion picture industry -- California -- Los Angeles -- History -- Sources.
    Theater -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.

    Forms/Genres

    Financial records -- California -- 20th century.
    Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century.

    Additional Contributors

    United States. Internal Revenue Service.