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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 54.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 12,000 items) |
Abstract | The collection of white author and journalist Robert Chester Ruark contains typed drafts and copies of novels, short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, and screenplays, 1942-1945. Also included is professional and personal correspondence. Other papers relate to Ruark's service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and to his travels and safaris in different part of the world, particularly Africa. His correspondents included friends Ernest Hemingway (one letter and one note, 1953-1954), Bernard Baruch (66 letters, 1953-1965), Richard Nixon (6 letters, 1958-1960), and J. Edgar Hoover (4 letters, 1958-1959); associates, especially his secretary, Alan Ritchie, and his literary agent, Harold Matson; and relatives, especially his wife, Virginia Webb Ruark. The correspondence covers a wide range of personal and literary topics, including journalism, literary philosophy, and African politics. Also included are research materials, reviews, photographs, financial materials, and writings by others. Volumes are chiefly scrapbooks of columns and related clippings. |
Creator | Ruark, Robert Chester, 1915-1965. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Robert Chester Ruark (1915-1965), journalist, author, world traveler, sportsman, and syndicated columnist; born in Wilmington, N.C.; received his A.B. from the University of North Carolina, 1935; eventually resided in London, England, and Palamos, Spain.
Robert Chester Ruark, Jr., was born in Wilmington, N.C., on 29 December 1915. He started college at age 15 at the University of North Carolina and was graduated with an A.B. in journalism in June 1935. After graduation, he worked as a cub reporter for the Hamlet News Messenger and later transferred to the Sanford Herald. During the next few years, Ruark worked as an accountant with the Works Progress Administration in Washington, D.C., enlisted as an ordinary seaman, and worked at the Washington Post and the Star before settling down at the Washington Daily News. In 1938, he married Virginia Webb, an interior decorator from Washington, D.C.
During World War II, Ruark joined the Navy as a gunnery officer and later became a press censor the Pacific. He returned to the Washington Daily News in 1945 to become a syndicated columnist. During this time, he began writing. His first novel, Grenadine Etching, was published in 1947. It was followed by I Didn't Know it Was Loaded (1948), One for the Road (1949), and Grenadine's Spawn (1952). Ruark also published articles regularly in the Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Pic, Esquire, and Field and Stream.
After 1950, Ruark began spending time in Africa. In 1953, he published Horn of the Hunter, about an African safari, and Something of Value in 1955. Something of Value, based on the Mau Mau uprisings, was a major success. He made over a million dollars on the royalties and the film rights which he sold to Metro Goldwyn Mayer. After visiting North Carolina in 1957, Ruark permanently settled in Spain. He wrote three autobiographical novels, The Old Man and the Boy (1957), Poor No More (1959), and The Old Man's Boy Grows Older (1961). In 1962, he published another work on race relations in Africa, Uhuru and his last book was The Honey Badger published in 1964. Ruark died while receiving medical attention for an attack in June 1965.
From: Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Ed. William S. Powell. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.
Back to TopThe collection of white author and journalist Robert Chester Ruark contains typed drafts and copies of novels, short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, and screenplays, 1942-1945. Also included is professional and personal correspondence. Other papers relate to Ruark's service in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and to his travels and safaris in different part of the world, particularly Africa. His correspondents included friends Ernest Hemingway (one letter and one note, 1953-1954), Bernard Baruch (66 letters, 1953-1965), Richard Nixon (6 letters, 1958-1960), and J. Edgar Hoover (4 letters, 1958-1959); associates, especially his secretary, Alan Ritchie, and his literary agent, Harold Matson; and relatives, especially his wife, Virginia Webb Ruark. The correspondence covers a wide range of personal and literary topics, including journalism, literary philosophy, and African politics. Also included are research materials, reviews, photographs, financial materials, and writings by others. Volumes are chiefly scrapbooks of columns and related clippings.
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Folder 1-3
Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3 |
Introductory Materials #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 1-3 |
Folder 4 |
Navy, 1942-1948 #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 4 |
Folder 5-7
Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7 |
Navy, 1945: Clippings #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 5-7 |
Folder 8 |
Publishers, 1946-1948 #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 8 |
Folder 9 |
Frank Sinatra (subject folder) #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 9 |
Folder 10 |
Africa, pre-1953 #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 10 |
Folder 11-35
Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35 |
Correspondence, 1945-1953 #04001, Series: "1A. Correspondence, pre-1953." Folder 11-35 |
Identified photographers include Ralph A. Brooks, New York, N.Y.; Monroe Campbell, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Mario Agosto, Genoa, Italy; Foto Rossi, Capri, Italy; James J. Kriegsman, New York; Rinaldo Serrat and A. Paal, Palamos, Spain; Cecil Maurice, Glebe, Va.; Jonas Brothers Taxidermy Art Studios, Denver, Colo.; Roy R. Erikson, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Bert Stoll, East Tawas, Mich.; New Brunswick Travel Bureau; Peter Scheer, Signal Corps, U.S.A.; Hall and Co., Sydney, Australia; M. F. Nichols, Sydney, Australia; Herbert Fishwich, Sydney, Australia; Herald Sun Feature Service, Melbourne, Australia; Leon Trice, New Orleans, La.; Studio Du Vieux Carre, New Orleans, La.; and Miami Herald Staff.
Image Folder PF-4001/1-5
PF-4001/1PF-4001/2PF-4001/3PF-4001/4PF-4001/5 |
Candid photographs of Ruark #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/1-5 |
Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-4001/1 |
Oversize candid photographs of Ruark #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." OP-PF-4001/1Also includes one oversize portrait of Ruark and a painting of a fishing scene and a photograph of a hunt, both with dedications to Ruark. |
Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-4001/2 |
Oversize photographs #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." OP-PF-4001/2 |
Image Folder PF-4001/6 |
Ruark with his Rolls Royce in his hometown of Wilmington, N.C. #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/6 |
Image Folder PF-4001/7 |
Portraits of Ruark #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/7 |
Image Folder PF-4001/8 |
Ruark with sculptor making of the Ruark bust, 1961 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/8 |
Image Folder PF-4001/9 |
Ruark and Dr. Paul Sanger, Clarence Lockwood, Wallace Thompson, Granville Q. Adams, Steve Hannagan, Mohmoud Hassan, Mohamed Naguib, and the Phoenix Singers #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/9 |
Image Folder PF-4001/10 |
Ruark at Phi Kappa Sigma #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/10 |
Image Folder PF-4001/11-14
PF-4001/11PF-4001/12PF-4001/13PF-4001/14 |
Ruark with groups #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/11-14 |
Image Folder PF-4001/15 |
Unidentified women, 1950-1965 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/15 |
Image Folder PF-4001/16-17
PF-4001/16PF-4001/17 |
Unidentified men, 1950-1965 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/16-17 |
Image Folder PF-4001/18-20
PF-4001/18PF-4001/19PF-4001/20 |
Unidentified groups, 1955-1965 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/18-20 |
Image Folder PF-4001/21 |
Candid and posed photographs of children, some of them with adults #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/21 |
Image Folder PF-4001/22 |
Ruark and friends in various stages of stalking, shooting, and retrieving assorted fowl #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/22 |
Image Folder PF-4001/23 |
Fishing #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/23 |
Image Folder PF-4001/24-25
PF-4001/24PF-4001/25 |
Dogs trained for combat, 1944 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/24-25Combat-trained dogs under simulated battle conditions, wounded and specially trained parachute dogs. |
Image Folder PF-4001/26-32
PF-4001/26PF-4001/27PF-4001/28PF-4001/29PF-4001/30PF-4001/31PF-4001/32 |
Ruark with cats and dogs, 1950 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/26-32 |
Extra Oversize Image Folder XOP-PF-4001/1 |
X-rays of dog #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." XOP-PF-4001/1 |
Image Folder PF-4001/33-34
PF-4001/33PF-4001/34 |
Landscapes, 1937-1957 #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/33-34Spain, Canada, Australia, Texas, and unidentified locations; boats and planes. |
Image Folder PF-4001/34-37
PF-4001/34PF-4001/35PF-4001/36PF-4001/37 |
Travel #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/34-37Includes Hawaii and Venezuela. |
Image Folder PF-4001/38-39
PF-4001/38PF-4001/39 |
Venezuela military #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/38-39 |
Image Folder PF-4001/40-41
PF-4001/40PF-4001/41 |
Palamos, Spain #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/40-41Includes images of construction of home. |
Image Folder PF-4001/42-48
PF-4001/42PF-4001/43PF-4001/44PF-4001/45PF-4001/46PF-4001/47PF-4001/48 |
Home interiors #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/42-48Possibly Palamos, Spain; big game taxidermy and animal skin decor depicted. |
Image Folder PF-4001/49 |
Miscellaneous #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/49Notable because of format or subject matter, including some that are humorous, erotic, or interesting because of location. |
Image Folder PF-4001/50-101
PF-4001/50PF-4001/51PF-4001/52PF-4001/53PF-4001/54PF-4001/55PF-4001/56PF-4001/57PF-4001/58PF-4001/59PF-4001/60PF-4001/61PF-4001/62PF-4001/63PF-4001/64PF-4001/65PF-4001/66PF-4001/67PF-4001/68PF-4001/69PF-4001/70PF-4001/71PF-4001/72PF-4001/73PF-4001/74PF-4001/75PF-4001/76PF-4001/77PF-4001/78PF-4001/79PF-4001/80PF-4001/81PF-4001/82PF-4001/83PF-4001/84PF-4001/85PF-4001/86PF-4001/87PF-4001/88PF-4001/89PF-4001/90PF-4001/91PF-4001/92PF-4001/93PF-4001/94PF-4001/95PF-4001/96PF-4001/97PF-4001/98PF-4001/99PF-4001/100PF-4001/101 |
Africa #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/50-101Assorted photographs of Ruark's travel in Africa including big game hunting, fishing, safari expeditions, animals, village scenes, urban scenes, ivory trading, Tanzania (including Ngorongoro), South Africa (including Johannesburg), indigenous Africans (including Maasai), agricultural work, market scenes, improvised showers. |
Image Folder PF-4001/102 |
African game exhibits #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/102 |
Image Folder PF-4001/103-104
PF-4001/103PF-4001/104 |
Hunting #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/103-104Includes big game and fowl. |
Image Folder PF-4001/105-106
PF-4001/105PF-4001/106 |
Jonas Bros. Taxidermy Art Studio #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/105-106 |
Image Folder PF-4001/107-108
PF-4001/107PF-4001/108 |
Photographs of artwork #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/107-108 |
Image Folder PF-4001/109 |
Photographs of Ruark's gravesite #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/109 |
Image Folder PF-4001/110 |
Ruark by Eva Monley #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PF-4001/110Acquisitions Information: Accession 99902 (Addition of September 2004) |
Special Format Image SF-P-4001/1-2
SF-P-4001/1SF-P-4001/2 |
Uncataloged color slides #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." SF-P-4001/1-2Acquisitions Information: Accession 85101 (Addition of July 1985) Chiefly images of African animals, village scenes, safari. |
Photograph Album PA-4001/1 |
Photograph album #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." PA-4001/1Images of social gatherings, travels, sporting events, friends, and pets. Album also contains a caricature by Al Capp, seven drawings by Ruark, two drawings by Tom Lea, and certificates from Sons of the Revolution and Sigma Delta Chi. |
Film F-4001/1 |
"Robert Ruark, Head" #04001, Series: "5. Photographs and Film, circa 1944-1965." F-4001/1Ruark describes returning to his hometown of Wilmington, N.C., with his Rolls Royce (16mm, color, about 4 minutes). |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4001/1b |
Oversize papers #04001, Series: "9. Oversize Papers" OPF-4001/1b |
Extra Oversize Paper Folder XOPF-4001/1a |
Extra oversize papers #04001, Series: "9. Oversize Papers" XOPF-4001/1a |
Processed by: SHC Staff, 1975-1997
Encoded by: Jackie Dean, 1997
Revisions: Nancy Kaiser, January 2006; Caroline Moakley, April 2008; Nancy Kaiser February 2009; Laura Hart, April 2019; Nancy Kaiser, March 2021
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