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Adrian Robert Ford Correspondence Related to Gay Personals Ads
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Adrian Robert Ford grew up in Webster, New York, and studied English literature at Butler University in Indiana. After graduating college, he spent the rest of his life in Chicago, where he was a longtime member of LGBTQ+ writing group NewTown Writers.
Largely consists of letters written to Adrian Robert Ford from men who fear discovery of their sexuality and who prefer discretion. Some of these men are married, others are well known as straight in their communities, many are from the South, and many are from small towns. Some of the letters are simple introductions and most discuss some aspect of sexuality or gay life. Several of the letters include photographs of the writers. Correspondents include an English professor from Chicago, a World War II veteran, an African American man, and an Asian American man. There is also an 11-page handwritten letter from Tom Woodward, the founder of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) at Purdue University. Another letter includes a detailed report on a Mattachine Society ball held in Chicago in 1972.
The first letter in the collection is a copy of a letter Ford wrote as a college student in Indianapolis, in which he shares a physical description of himself, his low college grades, his solitary home life in upstate New York, plans to visit Chicago, and personal interests. He closes the letter with a characterization of himself as an "intellectual who desires to share love with diverse persons" along with two phone numbers to contact him.
The correspondence remains arranged chronologically.
Purchased from Langdon Manor Books in March 2024 (AM 2025-050).
The collection was processed by Lauren C. Williams in December 2024. Finding aid written by Lauren C. Williams in December 2024, incorporating some description provided by the dealer.
No materials were removed from the collection during 2024 processing.
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Lauren C. Williams
- Finding Aid Date
- 2024
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research
- Use Restrictions
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Collection Inventory
.2 linear feet