2018-07-06 Preliminary Inventory of the Charles J.V. Murphy Papers, 1926-1937, 1960-1974, circa 1990s-2012 SPEC.PA.56.0203 Finding aid prepared by Devon Boerman, Cate Putirskis Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections

1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210

2018 June; 2023 April This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2023-04-07T15:35-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Charles J.V. Murphy Papers SPEC.PA.56.0203 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 2.8 Cubic feet 1926-1937, 1960-1974, circa 1990s-2012 Charles Murphy was a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) correspondent who accompanied Richard E. Byrd on his second expedition to Antarctica (BAE II), 1933-1935. Murphy played a role in crafting the public persona of Richard Byrd and helped ghostwrite Byrd's biography of the expedition. The Charles J.V. Murphy Papers, dated 1926-1937, 1960-1974, and circa 1990s-2012, contains radio scripts, correspondence, his book Struggle: The Life and Exploits of Commander Richard E. Byrd, press releases, daily journal writings, and correspondence between Murphy and family members. The materials mainly concern Murphy's experience during Byrd Antarctic Expedition II with some correspondence during Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, 1928-1930 and Byrd's North Pole flight. (2) cartons; (2) 2.5" letter document boxes English Murphy, Charles John Vincent, 1904- Arrangement of Materials

This collection is unprocessed. Materials are arranged in the order received.

Acquisitions Information

The materials that would become the initial accession, PA.2011.0032, to the Polar Archives were loaned to Nancy Porter Productions from the donor Edythe Holbrook, as a resource for the film, "Alone on the Ice," which was broadcast by PBS in 1999. Inadvertently, the materials went into storage at Porter Productions, instead of being returned to Ms. Holbrook. In 2011, Porter Productions discovered the misplaced collection and returned it to Ms. Holbrook, who in turn, donated it to Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program.

Accession No. PA.2011.0032: Edythe Holbrook, 2011 October; Accession No. PA.2012.0025: Edythe Holbrook, 2012 December; Accession No. PA.2023.0002: Sara Guggenheim, 2022 August

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Charles J.V. Murphy Papers, SPEC.PA.56.0203, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Contains compact discs.

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Audio/visual materials and computer media may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.

Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

Processing Information

This collection is unprocessed. Finding aid written by: Devon Boerman, 2018 June; Cate Putirskis, 2023 April

Biographical Note

Charles Murphy was a Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) correspondent who accompanied Richard E. Byrd on his second expedition to Antarctica (BAE II), 1933-1935. Murphy played a role in crafting the public persona of Byrd, and it was important to Murphy that Byrd's image as a hero be maintained. Murphy wrote the scripts for the weekly radio shows that were broadcast from Little America. Byrd came to regard Murphy as a trusted confidant, and acted as best man at the reporter's wedding.

Following the South Pole adventure, Murphy played a role in the writing of Byrd's account of the expedition. He would also go on to write his own biography of Byrd, Struggle: The Life and Exploits of Commander Richard E. Byrd. In addition to ghostwriting for Byrd, Charles Murphy also worked on books "written by" the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. While spending the remainder of his career as a writer for Fortune Magazine, Murphy also published a number of books under his own name, including the children's story, "Little Toot." He died in 1987 at the age of 83.

Scope and Contents

The Charles J.V. Murphy Papers, dated 1926-1937, 1960-1974, and circa 1990s-2012, contains radio scripts, correspondence, meteorological reports, Struggle: The Life and Exploits of Commander Richard E. Byrd, book chapters, press releases, notes, correspondence between Murphy and several family members, and daily journal writings mainly concerning Byrd Antarctic Expedition II, 1933-1935, with some correspondence during Byrd Antarctic Expedition I, 1928-1930 and his North Pole flight. Due to Murphy being Byrd's ghost writer, some original Byrd materials are found in this collection. The latter materials include correspondence and articles regarding Bernt Balchen's claims that Byrd lied about his North Pole flight of 1926, as well as compact discs containing correspondence from Byrd Antarctic Expedition II.

Related Materials SPEC.PA.56.0001 Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Byrd Antarctic Expedition (1st: 1928-1930) Byrd Antarctic Expedition (2nd: 1933-1935) Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957 Murphy, Charles John Vincent, 1904- Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--American--20th century Correspondence Diaries Families--Correspondence Ghostwriters--Antarctica--20th century Notes (documents) Press releases Radio journalists--Antarctica--20th century Radio scripts Radiograms (correspondence) Accession No. PA.2011.0032 1926-1937, 1960-1974 Script 1 PA.2011.0032.0001 1 1933 November-December Script 2 PA.2011.0032.0001 2 1934 January-February Script 3 PA.2011.0032.0001 3 1934 March-April Script 4 PA.2011.0032.0001 4 1934 May-June Script 5 PA.2011.0032.0001 5 1934 June-July Script 6 PA.2011.0032.0001 6 1934 July-October Script 7 PA.2011.0032.0001 7 1934 October-November Script 8 PA.2011.0032.0001 8 1934-1935 Script projects PA.2011.0032.0001 9 circa 1933-1935 Notes in Field Journeys PA.2011.0032.0001 10 1934-1935 Biographies, Winter Party PA.2011.0032.0001 11 circa 1933-1935 Winter Plans for Spring Journeys PA.2011.0032.0001 12 1934 Byrd Material for Little America PA.2011.0032.0001 13 circa 1933-1935 Byrd I book transcript PA.2011.0032.0001 14-15 circa 1933-1935 Richard E. Byrd: Records PA.2011.0032.0001 16 1972 Richard E. Byrd: Balchen Matter: II PA.2011.0032.0001 17 1960-1974 Richard E. Byrd, Balchen's Attack PA.2011.0032.0001 18 1972 Richard E. Byrd PA.2011.0032.0001 19 1931 Correspondence and news releases PA.2011.0032.0001 20 1931 September Correspondence PA.2011.0032.0001 21 1932-1937 Byrd Early Correspondence PA.2011.0032.0001 22 1926-1930 Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0001 23 1933 November Press, journal entries and radio scripts PA.2011.0032.0001 24 1933 December Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0001 25 1934 January Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0001 26 1934 February Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0001 27 1934 March Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0001 28 1934 March-April Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0002 1 1934 May Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0002 2 1934 June Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0002 3 1934 July Press, journal entries and radiograms PA.2011.0032.0002 4 1934 August Press, journal entries and radiograms PA.2011.0032.0002 5 1934 September Press, journal entries and radiograms PA.2011.0032.0002 6 1934 October Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0002 7 1934 November Press, journal entries and radiograms PA.2011.0032.0002 8 1934 December Press and journal entries PA.2011.0032.0002 9 1935 January Press and journal releases PA.2011.0032.0002 10 1935 February Order no. 8: Chain of command in Byrd's absence PA.2011.0032.0002 11 1934 March 14-16 Meteorological Reports PA.2011.0032.0002 12 1933-1935 Advance Base PA.2011.0032.0002 13 circa 1933-1935 American Geographic map, National Geographic and ARAL Press Service articles PA.2011.0032.0002 14 1930-1933 English and French Isolation PA.2011.0032.0002 15 1934-1935 Incidental PA.2011.0032.0002 16 1934-1935 Greenly Island, Communication, Comment on Newspaper Stories PA.2011.0032.0002 17 1928-1930 "Why We Went Back" essay and Byrd Antarctic Expedition II equipment lists PA.2011.0032.0002 18 circa 1933-1935 Byrd Antarctic Expedition II newsclippings, certificate and Jane Murphy correspondence PA.2011.0032.0002 19 undated Charles J.V. Murphy, Struggle: The Life of Commander Byrd PA.2011.0032.0002 20 1928 Accession No. PA.2012.0025 1933-1935, circa 1990s-2012 Charles J.V. Murphy, to his wife, Jane PA.2012.0025.0001 1 1933 October-November Charles J.V. Murphy, to his wife, Jane PA.2012.0025.0001 2 1933-1934 Charles J.V. Murphy, to his wife, Jane PA.2012.0025.0001 3 1935 February 12 Charles J.V. Murphy, to his daughter, Anne (nickname "Peter") PA.2012.0025.0001 4 1933-1934 Charles J.V. Murphy, to his daughter, Anne (nickname "Peter") PA.2012.0025.0001 5 1933-1934 Florist Cards: Charles J.V. Murphy, to his wife, Anne PA.2012.0025.0001 6 circa 1933-1935 Scanned copies of letters in the accession, 1933-1935, on 6 compact discs PA.2012.0025.0001 7 circa 1990s-2012 Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Compact discs

Accession No. PA.2023.0002 0.2 Cubic feet 1933-1935 (1) 2.5" letter document box Scope and Contents

Radiograms and correspondence (mostly typed) sent primarily between Charles J. V. Murphy and his wife (Jane) and daughter (Anne/"Peter") while Murphy served on the Byrd Antarctic II Expedition. Some radiograms and correspondence are between Murphy and other family members, and several are from Murphy to a florist in New York, near his family home.

Radiograms Accession No. PA.2023.0002.001 1933 November-1934 May Radiograms Accession No. PA.2023.0002.001 1934 June-October Radiograms Accession No. PA.2023.0002.001 1934 November-1935 February Correspondence Accession No. PA.2023.0002.001 1934-1935