{{Short description|American literary agent (1898–1988)}} {{infobox person |name=Harold Matson |birth_date={{birth date|1898|2|26}} |birth_place=Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1988|1|5|1898|2|26}} |occupation=Literary agent }} '''Harold Matson''' (February 26, 1898 – January 5, 1988<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news |first=Edwin |last=McDowell |title=Harold Matson, Literary Agent for Major Authors |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/06/obituaries/harold-matson-literary-agent-for-major-authors.html?scp=3&sq=Harold+Matson&st=nyt |work=The New York Times |date=January 6, 1988 |accessdate=November 4, 2009}}</ref>) was an American literary agent and founder of the '''Harold Matson Company'''. His clients included Evelyn Waugh, C. S. Forester, Arthur Koestler, Malcolm Lowry, William Saroyan,<ref name="NYT obit"/> Allen Drury, Robert Ruark, Herman Wouk, Evan S. Connell, Flannery O'Connor and Richard Condon.<ref>{{cite news |first=Edwin |last=McDowell |title=Matson, 88, Still a Tiger as an Agent |work=The New York Times |date=May 1, 1986 |page=C19}}</ref>
==Early life== Matson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up in San Francisco.<ref name="NYT obit"/>
==Career== ''The New York Times'' called Matson "one of the most influential figures in book publishing."<ref name="NYT obit"/> The $106,000 sale of the paperback rights to Robert Ruark's novel ''Something of Value'' set a record at the time.<ref name="NYT obit"/> On his death, Ruark left his Rolls-Royce car to Matson.<ref>{{cite news |title=Robert Ruark Left Estate In Britain Put at $66,950 |work=The New York Times |date=January 6, 1966 |page=17}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Archives== * [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_4079087 Harold Matson Company Inc. records, 1937-1980] {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Harold}} Category:1898 births Category:1988 deaths Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:Businesspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:American literary agents