Richard (AC 1952) and Josephine Haskell Aldridge Papers

The Richard (AC 1952) and Josephine Haskell Aldridge Papers consist of approximately 13.5 linear feet of material.

Richard Aldridge's writing is represented in several series in this collection. The Poetry Amherst papers document an anthology of poetry by Amherst College graduates that Aldridge edited in 1972 on the occasion of the college's 150th anniversary. Series 2, Writings, includes a series of notebooks that Aldridge kept between 1948 and 1993. These notebooks are a combination of poetry, prose, and quotes from other writers that Aldridge collected for inspiration, as well as drafts of his own writing. Also included in this series are handwritten books of poetry that Aldridge gave as presents to family members, as well as handmade books and cards created by his wife, Josephine Haskell Aldridge, that contain poetry by Richard Aldridge. This series also includes publications by both Aldridges, as well as business records and correspondence related to publications.

There are also writings by Richard Aldridge in series 3, which includes copies of various school newspapers that he wrote for, along with some of his schoolwork.

Included in series 4, Correspondence, are copies of poems that he sent to others, along with scrapbooks his mother compiled that include correspondence, poetry, and other writings by him. There is also some childhood writing of Aldridge's in Series 5, Subject Files, along with copies of a shipboard newspaper he wrote while in the Army, entitled The Daily Barnacle.

Documentation from Aldridge's days at Amherst College, including documents and photographs of the Lord Jeffrey Amherst Club, can be found in Series 3, R.B.A.'s Schoolwork, Records, and Memorabilia, as well series 6, Photographs, which includes a photo album of Amherst.

A large segment of the correspondence (Series 4) comes from files that were maintained by Richard Aldridge's mother, Nancy Symington Aldridge. Among these is a folder of letters that Nancy Symington sent to her father, John Symington, when she was a child at boarding school in India. Symington Aldridge's files also include correspondence she received from Richard, along with some correspondence about him (e.g., from school headmasters), and some carbon-copies and drafts of letters she sent to him. In addition, there are three scrapbooks that she maintained about him from childhood onward.

Richard Aldridge had a tempestuous relationship with novelist Janet Burroway, to whom he was engaged sometime between 1956 and 1957. A large amount of the correspondence between Richard Aldridge and his parents between 1956 and 1958 are emotional letters with disagreements about Burroway and Aldridge's finances.

Just as they disapproved of Aldridge's relationship with Burroway, his parents also disapproved of the woman who would became his wife, Josephine Haskell Aldridge. This led to several verbal confrontations between the parties, and their letters back and forth over the years catalog long-simmering slights and resentments.

Josephine Haskell Aldridge was still married to her first husband, E. Seward Stevens, when she reconnected with Richard Aldridge in the late 1950s (the two had known each other as children when Aldridge and his brother attended a summer camp run by the Haskell family). In order to secure an expeditious divorce from Stevens, Josephine Haskell flew to Reno, NV, and lived there for six weeks in a boarding house with other people seeking divorces. (At the time, Reno was known as the divorce capital of the country because of its six-week residency requirement and liberal laws.) Josephine and Richard sent each other multiple letters each day during this period, and their correspondence from that time is preserved in the collection.

The collection also includes letters Richard Aldridge sent to his aunt Jean Symington from childhood through adulthood. In these and correspondence to others he often enclosed artwork and draft poetry that he was working on at the time.

Aldridge corresponded with a number of other writers and notables, including poets Kate Barnes, James Hayford (AC 1935), and Richard Wilbur (AC 1942); children's book author Elizabeth Coatsworth; South African Constitutional Court justice Laurie Ackermann (a friend of Aldridge's from Worcester College, Oxford); and British MP Robert MacLennan.

The photographs in the collection are primarily a combination of snapshots from Richard Aldridge's childhood and schooling, photographic portraits of various family members, and photographs that he took while stationed in Germany during the mid-1950s.

Series 7, Realia, contains items owned by Aldridge, primary at his home in Maine.