Richard Armour and Stacy Clapp Papers

Identity elements

Reference code

US TxSaT SC.038

Level of description

Collection

Title

Richard Armour and Stacy Clapp Papers

Date(s)

Extent

1 box, 0.25 linear feet.

Name of creator

(1906-1989)

Biographical history

Richard Willard Armour was born July 15, 1906 in San Pedro, California. He was raised in Southern California (San Pedro and Pomona), and attended Pomona College. Armour was an antiaircraft artillery officer in the United States Army during World War II, attaining the rank of colonel and earning the Legion of Merit. He earned a Ph.D. in English from Harvard University, and was a faculty member at Scripps College from 1945 to 1966. Armour published scholarly works on poets Bryan Waller Procter and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Armour became a popular author of light verse and satire, often compared to Ogden Nash. He published over sixty books, the most well-known of which is "It All Started with Columbus." His short poems were routinely featured in newspapers and magazines, and he wrote essays for Reader's Digest, Playboy, and other publications.

Armour was married to his wife, Kathleen, and had two children, Geoffrey and Karen. Armour died of Parkinson's Disease in 1989.

Name of creator

(1913-2004)

Biographical history

Colonel Stacy Wendell Clapp, Jr., was born in Pomona, California in 1913. He graduated in 1935 from the University of California Dental School. Following graduation, he served as a dentist in the United States Army, retiring in 1968 with the rank of colonel. Clapp was an adjunct faculty member at University of Texas Health Science Center’s Dental School and the Medical Field School at Fort Sam Houston. Clapp was married twice; both marriages ended in divorce. He had no children. Clapp passed away in 2004.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This collection consists of materials collected by Col. Stacy Clapp by and about popular author Richard Armour. The two men were acquaintances from growing up in Pomona, California; Clapp became a fan of Armour's writing, and the two began a correspondence in 1959 that continued through the 1980s. Materials included in this collection include correspondence between Armour and Clapp; correspondence of Clapp's with other individuals regarding Armour's work; clippings of Armour's work collected by Clapp; and ephemera related to Armour's work collected by Clapp.

System of arrangement

This collection is arranged in four series. Series 1 contains correspondence between Armour and Clapp, arranged chronologically. Series 2 contains other correspondence collected by Clapp, arranged chronologically. Series 3 consists of clippings related to Armour, collected by Clapp. Many of these clippings were taped into a scrapbook by Clapp; in cases where the tape adhesive is no longer functioning, the clippings have been removed from the scrapbook backing. Series 4 contains ephemera, such as brochures, advertising Armour's work.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

This collection is open and available to the public for research in the Special Collections & Archives reading room. The materials are non-circulating.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

The materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). The materials are available for personal, educational, and scholarly use. It is the responsibility of the researcher to locate and obtain permission from the copyright owner or his or her heirs for any other use, such as reproduction and publication.

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

    Language and script notes

    Finding aids

    Acquisition and appraisal elements

    Custodial history

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Gift of Stacy Wendell Clapp, circa 1994.

    Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

    Accruals

    Related materials elements

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related archival materials

    Richard Armour Collection, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University: http://archives.bu.edu/collections/collection?id=121380

    Related descriptions

    Notes element

    General note

    Col. Clapp also donated his collection of Armour first editions, many signed, to Coates Library. These are available in Special Collections and are listed in the library catalog.

    Specialized notes

    • Citation: Richard Armour and Stacy Clapp Papers. Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas).

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Description control element

    Rules or conventions

    DACS

    Sources used

    Archivist's note

    Processed by Colleen Hoelscher, February 2022.

    Access points

    Subject access points

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    Accession area