Arms Robbery

We were looking through a file on Corey Ford for some photos. Corey Ford, for those who don't know, was a writer, humorist, avid sportsman, local legend, and honorary member of the Class of 1921. The Rugby house is named after him--he was a beloved figure on campus for a couple of generations of Dartmouth students.

While looking for photos, we stumbled on a long list of things he bequeathed to the Dartmouth Museum--a five-page list that captures Ford's range of interests: big game trophies, coins, and lots of artifacts from around the world. In the "Historical" section shown here, there are candle molds, chairs, long-stemmed pipes, paper money, and one entry that caught our attention: "2 small flintlock derringers." That there were guns is no surprise, the worrisome factor was the handwritten note next to the entry that reads,"1 stolen, 1969."

We are guessing it was stolen between the time the materials were bequeathed and their arrival at the museum since this appears to be the work of a registrar, and the document is dated mid-November 1969.