- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Expanded View
Collection Overview
- Creator:
- Gordon, Ernest, 1916-2002
- Title:
- Ernest Gordon Papers
- Repository:
- Manuscripts Division
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/1c18df849
- Dates:
- 1950-1979
- Size:
- 11 boxes and 6.5 linear feet
- Storage Note:
- ReCAP (scarcpxm): Boxes 1-8; 5a; 6a; 7a
- Language:
- English
Abstract
Consists of manuscripts (and related correspondence) of works by Princeton chaplain Ernest Gordon that chronicle his World War II Japanese prisoner-of-war experience and his chaplaincy at Princeton University.
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Description:
The collection consists of manuscripts of Gordon's writings and related correspondence: 1) the original autograph and typed manuscripts, galley proofs, and photographs of Through the Valley of the Kwai (1962), an account of Gordon's personal experiences during three-and-a-half years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Thailand during World War II and how those experiences led him to a vocation in the ministry; 2) typescripts of Meet Me at the Door (1969), based on Gordon's early years counseling students during his chaplaincy at Princeton; 3) unprocessed manuscripts of other works, including "Odyssey by the River Kwai" and "Nudged by Love," and correspondence with publishers and from readers/fans of Gordon's work; 4) Gordon's sermons, from the 1950s to the 1970s.
- Arrangement
Unprocessed: Boxes 1-4 contain literary works and related correspondence; Boxes 5-7 contain miscellaneous sermons; Box 8 contains chronological sermons (1956-1962).
- Collection Creator Biography:
Gordon, Ernest, 1916-2002
Ernest Gordon was a former Presbyterian dean of the chapel at Princeton University. During World War II, he was a Japanese prisoner of war and helped build the infamous "Bridge Over the River Kwai."
Collection History
- Acquisition:
Gift of the author. Unprocessed manuscripts and correspondence with publishers, along with sermons are a gift of the Princeton University Chapel. More sermons transferred from Mudd Library in 2010. "Solan" manuscript is a gift of the Chapel. AM 18485, 20475, 2009-64, 2010-3, 2011-7, 2012-8.
- Appraisal
No appraisal information is available.
- Processing Information
Folder Inventory added by Hilde Creager '2015 in 2012.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
- Credit this material:
Ernest Gordon Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/1c18df849
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- ReCAP (scarcpxm): Boxes 1-8; 5a; 6a; 7a
Find More
- Existence and Location of Copies
Publications: Through the Valley of the Kwai (New York: Harper, 1962), Meet Me at the Door (New York: Harper & Row, 1969)
- Subject Terms:
- Church work with students -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 20th century.
College chaplains -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 20th century.
Prisoners of war -- Thailand -- 20th century.
Prisons, Japanese.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Thailand -- Prisoners and prisons, Japanese. - Genre Terms:
- Correspondence -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- 20th century.
Sermons -- 20th century.
photographs -- 20th century - Names:
- Burma-Siam Railroad
- Places:
- Kwai Noi River (Thailand)
