Guide to the Richard Wilmer Rowan Papers, 1910-1987

Collection number: MC 95
Size: 2 boxes (0.66 cu.ft.)

About Richard Wilmer Rowan

Richard Wilmer Rowan (1894-1964) has been described as the foremost American non-fiction writer on the history of espionage. He was educated at Brown and Columbia and served in the U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. He maintained a large international network of sources which provided him with information on intelligence activities.

Rowan’s publications include:

About the Richard Wilmer Rowan Papers

The collection includes correspondence from Allen W. Dulles (former head of the C.I.A.), the actor Sydney Greenstreet, as well as others, book reviews, and various publications concerned with espionage and politics.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

This collection is open.

Copyright Notice

Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], [Folder], [Box], Richard Wilmer Rowan Papers, 1910-1987, MC 95, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Donation, Professor Douglas L. Wheeler, July 1988 (Accession number: 883)

Collection Contents

Series 1: Correspondence, 1910-1965

(9 folders)
Box 1
Box 1, Folder 1Allen W. Dulles (Former Head of C.I.A.) to R.W.R., 1963
  • T.L.S. Jan. 14, 1963
  • T.L.S. Mar. 18, 1963
  • T.L.S. Mar. 28, 1963
  • T.L.S. May 3, 1963
  • T.L.S. June 20, 1963
  • T.L.S. Oct. 4, 1963
  • T.L.S. Dec. 6. 1963
Box 1, Folder 2Sydney Greenstreet to R.W.R., 1919-1920
  • A.L.S. Nov. 29 [?], 1919 [Postmarked Nov.3, 1919]
  • A.L.S. Nov. 19,1919
  • A.L.S. March 10, 1910 [Sic; Postmarked March 10, 1920]
  • A.L.S. n.d. [Postmarked Feb. 24, 1920]
Box 1, Folder 3Walter Pforzheimer-Richard W. and Ruth Rowan, 1959-1964
  • Photocopy T.L. Pforzheimer to R.W.R. Dec. 17, 1959
  • Photocopy T.L.S. R.W.R. to Pforzheimer Dec. 21 1959
  • Photocopy T.L.S. R.W.R. to Pforzheimer May 18, 1960
  • Photocopy T.L.S. R.W.R. to Pforzheimer Aug. 17, 1960
  • Telegram Pforzheimer to Mrs. Richard [Ruth] W. Rowan Aug. 15, 1964
  • Photocopy. A.L.S. Ruth Rowan to Pforzheimer Sept.2, 1964.
Box 1, Folder 4Czechoslovak National Council (G.H. Mika) to R.W.R., 1918
  • T.L.S. May 3, 1918
Box 1, Folder 5Mrs. Louis J. Figenwald with R.W.R., 1936, 1946
  • Photocopy T.L. Mrs. Louis Figenwald to R.W.R. July 4, 1946
  • T.L.S. R.W.R. to Figenwald July 8, 1946
  • Also: Typed Book Review by Figenwald of Spielhagen, F. Spione and Verschwoerer in Spanien. (Paris: Editions de Carrefour, 1936).
Box 1, Folder 6Sanford L. Cluett to R.W.R., 1932, 1942
  • T.L.S. Mar. 23, 1942
  • T.L.S. Apr. 29, 1942
  • Also photostat of A.L.S. Dr. Schragmuller to Cluett Apr. 5, 1932
Box 1, Folder 7Doubleday and Co., Inc. to Richard W. and Ruth Rowan, 1962-1964
  • 1954-56 and 1962-64 Re: Copyrights
  • Also Library of Congress to Rowan Re: Copyright
Box 1, Folder 8Correspondence both with and about R.W.R. by others, 1913-1918
Box 1, Folder 9Correspondence of Ruth Rowan, 1963-1965

Series 2: Published Work by Richard Wilmer Rowan, 1931-1965

(2 folders)
Box 1
Box 1, Folder 10Articles and Book Reviews, 1951-1959
  • a) “The Student and American Security,” The Rainbow of Delta Tau Delta Vol. LXXIV No.4 (June 1951):209-11 and 216. Plus Extra Copy of Article.
  • b) (Booklet) The Molly Maguires. Fort Wayne, [Ind.]: Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, 1955.
  • c) Photocopy of Book Review of Harry Howe Ransom’s Central Intelligence and National Security by R.W.R. in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (May 1959):189.
Box 1, Folder 11Proofs, Dustjackets, Copyright Documents, 1931-1965
  • Annotated Proofs of Title page and Table of Contents of The Story of Secret Service; Two Dustjackets and Copyright Documents Concerning Several of Rowan’s Publications. 1931-65.

Series 3: Published Work by Richard Wilmer Rowan, 1931-1965

(9 folders)
Box 1
Box 1, Folder 12Reviews of Rowan’s Spy and Counter-Spy, 1928
Box 1, Folder 13Reviews of Rowan’s The Story of Secret Service, 1936-1937, 1968-1969
Box 1, Folder 14Reviews of Rowan’s Secret Agents Against America, 1939
Box 1, Folder 15Reviews of Rowan’s Terror In Our Time, 1941
Box 1, Folder 16Extracts of Reviews of Rowan’s Works (Typed), nd
Box 1, Folder 17Reviews of Rowan’s The Pinkertons, 1931
Box 1, Folder 18Reviews of Rowan’s Spies and the Next War, 1934, and Modern Spies Tell Their Stories, 1934
Box 1, Folder 19Reviews of Rowan’s The Story of Secret Service, 1937
Box 1, Folder 20Reviews of Rowan’s The Story of Secret Service, 1937
Box 1, Folder 21Reviews of Rowan’s Secret Agents Against America, 1939
Box 1, Folder 22Reviews of Rowan’s Terror In Our Time, 1941
Box 1, Folder 23 Publicity and Schedules for Lectures by R.W.R. 1915-60. Includes Text for “The Secret War Behind the War,” 1941

Series 4: Biographical Information, 1911-1987

(5 folders)
Box 1
Box 1, Folder 24Newspaper clippings, 1941-1942
Box 1, Folder 24Obituaries, 1964

New York Times Aug. 14, 1964

Brown Alumni Monthly Vol. LXV No.2 (Nov. 1964): 66.

Box 1, Folder 26Articles About R.W.R. by Dr. Douglas Wheeler, 1911
  • a) Draft of “An Anniversary in Espionage Literature,” Foreign Intelligence Literary Scene Feb. 1984
  • b) Photocopy of “Fiftieth Anniversary of Richard Wilmer Rowan’s The Story of Secret Service,” Foreign Intelligence Literary Scene vol. 6 no. 6 (Nov/Dec. 1987): 1-5.
Box 1, Folder 27Newspaper clippings, 1984-1987

Rowan’s high school baseball club

Box 1, Folder 28Die Freie Zeitung (Newspaper). Eight Issues from March 1918

Series 5: Publications on Espionage and Politics (Not by R.W.R.), 1918-1963

(3 folders)
Box 1
Box 1, Folder 29Political Pamphlets (Not by R.W.R.), 1918-1944
  • a) Hazen, Charles D. Die Regierung Deutschlands. New York: Gesellschaft der Freunde der deutschen Demokratie, 1918.
  • b) Kahn, Otto H. The Poison Growth of Prussianism. Address in Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wis. Jan. 13, 1918.
  • c) Beria, Lavrenty. Fifteen Years of Soviet Georgia. Moscow: Co-Operative Publishing Society of Foreign Workers in the U.S.S.R., 1936.
  • d) France Forever No.7 N.Y.: The Fighting French Committee of National Liberation, Feb. 1944.
Box 1, Folder 30Dulles, Allen. “The Craft of Intelligence.” Supplement to Harper’s Magazine, April 1963.
Box 2
Box 2, Folder 1 “Home-run Parkins,” The Saturday Evening Post, Vol. 184 No.50: 12-14 and 48-51, June 8, 1912.