Scope and Contents
The papers document a portion of the creative process of writer John O’Hara, 1905-1970. They consist primarily of typed manuscript drafts, galley proofs, and page proofs of individual short stories, collections of stories, and novels, many with manuscript annotations. Some drafts of the collections include previously-printed stories excised from their original print source (often the New Yorker). The manuscript for “The Ewings” is a photocopy. There is also a small amount of correspondence between O’Hara, James T. Babb, and Robert Hawthorne Wylie. The papers span the range of much of O’Hara’s career, from circa 1934 to circa 1970, but represent only a portion of his creative output.
Dates
- circa 1934-1970
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The John O'Hara papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Most of the writings were gifts of John O’Hara in 1944 and 1945. The photocopy of “The Ewings” was a gift of the Book-of-the-Month Club in 1972. The correspondence from John O’Hara to James Babb was a gift of James T. Babb in 1962, while the correspondence from John O’Hara to Robert Wylie was a gift of Robert Hawthorne Wylie.
Arrangement
Organized into two series: Series I. Writings; and Series II: Correspondence. Series I is organized into two subseries: Short Stories; and Monographs.
Extent
1.04 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
The papers document a portion of the creative process of writer John O’Hara, 1905-1970. They consist primarily of typed manuscript drafts, galley proofs, and page proofs of individual short stories, collections of stories, and novels, many with manuscript annotations. Some drafts of the collections include previously-printed stories excised from their original print source (often the New Yorker). The manuscript for “The Ewings” is a photocopy. There is also a small amount of correspondence between O’Hara, James T. Babb, and Robert Hawthorne Wylie. The papers span the range of much of O’Hara’s career, from circa 1934 to circa 1970, but represent only a portion of his creative output.
John O'Hara, 1905-1970
John Henry O’Hara was an American writer born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania on January 31, 1905. He was the son of Patrick Henry O’Hara, a surgeon, and Katharine Elizabeth Delaney and was the oldest of eight children. O’Hara attended the Fordham Preparatory School, the Keystone State Normal School, and the Niagara Preparatory School but was dismissed from all three. His desire to attend Yale remained unrealized due to his father’s death in 1925, after which O’Hara worked at a variety of jobs that led to journalism and, finally, a career as a writer of novels and short stories. His places of residence included New York, Hollywood, Long Island, and finally Princeton, New Jersey, where he died on April 11, 1970.
O’Hara had a short story first published in the New Yorker in 1928, but it was his 1934 novel Appointment in Samarra that was his first success. With individual short stories continuing to appear in popular periodicals, he published collections and novels such as The Doctor’s Son and Other Stories, Butterfield 8, and Pal Joey. Although critical response was and remains mixed, O’Hara’s work generally met with commercial success, and some of his efforts were adapted for the stage and screen.
O’Hara married three times, first in 1931 to Helen Ritchie Petit, which ended in divorce in 1933; then in 1937 to Belle Mulford Wylie, with whom he had one child before she passed away in 1954; and finally in 1955 to Katharine Barnes Bryan, who survived him.
O’Hara had a short story first published in the New Yorker in 1928, but it was his 1934 novel Appointment in Samarra that was his first success. With individual short stories continuing to appear in popular periodicals, he published collections and novels such as The Doctor’s Son and Other Stories, Butterfield 8, and Pal Joey. Although critical response was and remains mixed, O’Hara’s work generally met with commercial success, and some of his efforts were adapted for the stage and screen.
O’Hara married three times, first in 1931 to Helen Ritchie Petit, which ended in divorce in 1933; then in 1937 to Belle Mulford Wylie, with whom he had one child before she passed away in 1954; and finally in 1955 to Katharine Barnes Bryan, who survived him.
Processing Information
Little processing history is available for this legacy collection. Evidence suggests the collection may have received a basic level of processing, including arrangement, housing, and some description, not long after much of the material was donated by John O’Hara in 1944-1945. Subsequent gifts may simply have been added, with no significant change to the arrangement. At some point there may have been rehousing at the box level. Rehousing, slight modifications in arrangement, and fuller description were done in 2013.
As a rule, descriptive information found in the Collection Contents section is drawn in large part from a previously existing card catalog set in the Manuscripts Catalog (all pertinent bibliographical information has been retained) and from a survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are generally identical to those on folders in which the material was previously housed, with the exception of "Walter T. Carriman," which had the working title "Walter T. Janison" prior to publication.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
As a rule, descriptive information found in the Collection Contents section is drawn in large part from a previously existing card catalog set in the Manuscripts Catalog (all pertinent bibliographical information has been retained) and from a survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are generally identical to those on folders in which the material was previously housed, with the exception of "Walter T. Carriman," which had the working title "Walter T. Janison" prior to publication.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Creator
- Title
- Guide to the John O'Hara Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Tom Bolze
- Date
- April 2013
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.