Florence Ryerson papers, 1907-1964

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Summary

Creators:
Ryerson, Florence
Abstract:
Papers belonging to American author, playwright, and screenwriter Florence Ryerson.
Extent:
7 Linear Feet (6 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Florence Ryerson papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains biographical information about Ryerson, and the Willard family, including her father Charles Dwight Willard, as well as correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, clippings, photographs, publicity, and literary papers by Florence Ryerson. There are 40 volumes of diaries from 1926 to 1964, with a diary from 1918. In the diaries, Ryerson glued in photographs, clippings, and other ephemera, and wrote about her personal and professional life including her writing, scripts, costumes, and other aspects of theater and motion pictures.

Biographical / historical:

Florence Willard Ryerson Clements was an American playwright, screenwriter, and co-author of the script for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. She was the daughter of Charles Dwight Willard (1860-1914), journalist and political reformer who worked for the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Herald. She was born in Glendale, California, in 1892, and attended Stanford University and Radcliffe College. She went to work for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1926 and worked on several silent film scripts and other movies including The Wizard of Oz. Ryerson published several books on teenage girls, as well as articles for Woman's World and Ladies' Home Journal throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Several of her screenplays were performed on Broadway. In the 1930s, Ryerson and her second husband, Colin Clements, with whom she published several books, purchased a ranch in Canoga Park, California, and named it Shadow Ranch. She died in Mexico City in 1965.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Florence Willard Ryerson Clements Estate, September 1968 and July 1972.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington staff in the 1970s. In November 2024, Brooke M. Black created a finding aid.

Arrangement:

Organized in two series: 1. Correspondence and papers, 1907-1948; Series 2. Diaries, 1918-1964.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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]. Florence Ryerson papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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