Corydon Whitten Bell, Author and Artist

On July 16, 1894, Corydon Whitten Bell was born in Tiffin, Ohio to Mr. and Mrs. Alvin J. Bell. The Bell family moved to Sandusky around 1910.  Corydon graduated from Sandusky High School in 1913, where he had been active in the high school orchestra under Eugene Ackley.  In the picture below, a copy of the Fram can be seen on the table beside his desk.

Corydon Bell attended the University of Michigan and Western Reserve University before entering Army Medical School. During World War I he served as a bacteriologist and instructor. In 1921 he married Thelma Harrington. They both worked in advertising in Cleveland, but later both husband and wife became writers. Often Thelma wrote the text of the book and Corydon did the illustrations. In 1944 the Bells moved to North Carolina where they lived on an old farm in the mountains, and enjoyed being away from the pressures of the business world. Bell says “Immersed in undiluted nature on our remote mountain, I evolved the idea of writing about some of the fundamental aspects of natural science.”  A few titles that he authored are: The Wonder of Snow; Thunderstorm; and The Riddle of Time. Corydon Bell’s works are featured in libraries throughout the U.S., the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Ohioana Collection of Ohio Authors.

On page 22 of the June 1913 issue of the Fram is a piece entitled “The Class Motto.”  The names of several members of the graduating class are listed, with specific letters in bold that spell out Ready For All Things. Corydon Bell’s name is the fifth in the list.