Booth Tarkington Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Booth Tarkington Art Value Price Guide

Feb. 25, 2024
AMERICAN PULTIZER PRIZE WINNER - AUTHOR TARKINGTON
Est: $50 - $100
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) was awarded two of the first four Pulitzer Prizes in Fiction: (The Magnificent Ambersons, 1919; and, Alice Adams, 1922). His other novels include The Gentleman from Indiana, Penrod, Penrod and Sam, The Two Van Revels and Beasley's Christmas Party. Tarkington was known for his comical (and almost cynical) style of the Lost Generation that characterized the 1920s. Ink signed envelope "Booth Tarkington".
Raynor's Historical Collectible Auctions
Aug. 31, 2023
Lot of 3 Indiana author books: Kate Fennigate, Booth Tarkington, signed, 1943 8 1/8"H x 5 3/4"W x 1 3/8"D (Kate Fennigate)
Est: $200 - $300
Lot of 3 Indiana author books: Kate Fennigate, Booth Tarkington, signed, 1943 Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc, NY. Includes inscription dated 1944. Discolored pages. Your Amiable Uncle, Booth Tarkington, 1st and limited edition (189/1,000), The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis and NY, 1949. Signed by the author's nephews. Discolored dust jacket with torn edges. The Hermit of Capri, John Steventon, Harper & Brothers Publishers, NY and London, 1910. Written by Judge John S. Tarkington, the father of Booth Tarkington, using a pen name. Includes John Tarkington Jameson bookplate. Torn dust jacket and discolored pages. Provenance: From the library of Booth Tarkington and his descendants.
Ripley Auctions
Aug. 31, 2023
Lot of 2 Booth Tarkington novels: Rumbin Galleries, 1938 7 3/4"H x 5 1/2"W x 1 1/2"D
Est: $100 - $200
Lot of 2 Booth Tarkington novels: Rumbin Galleries, 1938 William Heinemann LTD, London and Toronto. Discolored dust jacket with tears and brown spots on page edges. The Plutocrat, Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., NY., 1935. Discolored dust jacket with tears. Provenance: From the library of Booth Tarkington and his descendants.
Ripley Auctions
Aug. 31, 2023
The Fighting Littles, Booth Tarkington, 1941 8 1/8"H x 5 7/8"W x 1 3/8"D
Est: $100 - $200
The Fighting Littles, Booth Tarkington, 1941 Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., NY. Discolored spine. Provenance: From the library of Booth Tarkington and his descendants.
Ripley Auctions
Aug. 31, 2023
Dinner to Booth Tarkington menu by the Lotos Club of New York, November 25, 1916 14 3/4"H x 11 1/4"W (plate), 18 1/2"H x 14 5/8"W (frame)
Est: $100 - $200
Dinner to Booth Tarkington menu by the Lotos Club of New York, November 25, 1916 Thomas Sindelar, New York, Ohio, (1867 - 1923). Provenance: From the collection of Booth Tarkington and his descendants.
Ripley Auctions
Aug. 31, 2023
The Fighting Littles, Booth Tarkington, signed 1st edition, 1941 8 1/8"H x 6"H x 1 1/2"D
Est: $200 - $300
The Fighting Littles, Booth Tarkington, signed 1st edition, 1941 Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., NY. Signed Uncle Booth. Includes inscription dated 1941. Provenance: From the library of Booth Tarkington and his descendants.
Ripley Auctions
Dec. 28, 2022
First Edition Hardcover Book, Penrod and Sam
Est: $10 - $200
Antique novel set pre-World War 1, and sequel to Penrod. Booth Tarkington (1869 - 1946) American novelist and dramatist. #AntiqueBooks Artist: Booth Tarkington Issued: 1916 Dimensions: 1.25"L x 5"W x 7.5"H Edition Number: First Edition Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers Country of Origin: United States
Lion and Unicorn
Nov. 10, 2022
Pair of Bookplates from the Libraries of Turn of the Century Writers
Est: $225 - $450
Pair of turn of the century bookplates from the libraries of noted writers. The first belonged to Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915), author of "A Message to Garcia" and founder of the Roycroft artist's community. The second belonged to Booth Tarkington (1869-1946), one of four authors to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once. First measures 4 3/4" x 6 1/2", second measures 3 1/4" x 4 1/4".
Embassy Auctions International
Jan. 23, 2020
Booth Tarkington
Est: $100 - $200
Booth Tarkington, Author ALS dated July 1937.
One of a Kind Collectibles Auctions, LLC
Oct. 14, 2016
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946), Works
Est: $600 - $900
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946), Works, Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1918-1932, complete in 27 volumes, limited autographed edition, number 51 of 565, autographed by the author on the limitation page of volume 1, octavo, in three-quarter brown leather on brown cloth with gilt fillet, the spines with raised bands and gilt lettering, rule and decoration, the top edges cut and gilt, bookplate of Reuben Jay Flick, 8-5/8" x 5-3/4".
New Orleans Auction Galleries
Dec. 09, 2015
Booth Tarkington Autograph
Est: $100 - $200
Autograph of Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) American novelist and dramatist , Signed sentiment framed with photograph. Note with photograph signed "with grateful regards from Booth Tarkington" with additional text above this covered by mat. Photograph measures 4.5" x 4" and is framed (frame measures 12" x 10". Mat in frame exhibits spotting/foxing with photograph exhibiting some lightness.
Alderfer Auction
Feb. 12, 2015
Author BOOTH TARKINGTON - Autograph Ltr Signed
Est: $200 - $350
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) Author. Tarkington best known for his novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams. He is one of only three novelists (the others being William Faulkner and John Updike) to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once. 5 ¾" x 7 ¾" autograph letter signed, personal stationery, July 28, 1937, to "My dear Mr. Lippincott. "...The 'just a line' for which you ask is one of genuine sympathy. That emotion is evoked by the task assigned to you ? of talking about me for over one hour. Heaven strengthen you and your audience!...." Some staining in the horizontal mailing fold.
The Written Word Autographs
Dec. 05, 2013
Penrod
Est: $400 - $700
(8vo) blue mesh cloth, stamped in white with a circular pictorial cover illustration, dust jacket. First Edition, early issue.
PBA Galleries Auctions & Appraisers
Oct. 04, 2010
TARKINGTON, BOOTH. 1869-1946.
Est: $1,500 - $2,000
8 Autograph Letters Signed ("Booth Tarkington"), the last a fragment, 31 pp, various sizes, Indianapolis, IA, and Kennebunkport, ME, February 25-September 25, 1923, to producer Alfred E. Aarons and stage director Ira Hards, occasional light toning and paperclip marks. With 3 related theater programs. A playwright's odyssey from anticipation of the opening night to horror as the play is "forced out of New York." Set in the ante-bellum South, Magnolia charted the progress of Tom Rumford from bookish, God-fearing youth to hard-drinking, hard-fighting, hard-gambling monster. The correspondence opens with Tarkington applauding Aarons and Hands' suggestion of Leo Carrillo for the lead, and continues with his opinions on each casting choice. When asked his preference for an interior or exterior set, the playwright launches into an extraordinary five-page monologue touching on such minutiae as the positioning of grass mats and the darkness of foliage ("suggestive of palm leaves low down somewhere")—while admitting that "I am apt to think my own conceived picture of a scene the best—but recognize this as a possible weakness." There is then a hiatus, during which Magnolia opened at the Liberty Theatre on August 27, 1923. We next hear from Tarkington two days later, nit-picking ("The butterfly wasn't good—looked like a maple leaf," "did you fill the gap between the curtains in Act II?") and lamenting the reviews ("The damage may be fatal") which were in fact generally positive; he concedes, nonetheless, that "the audience was really with us." Turn-out, however, was lackluster, and although Magnolia blossomed in the third week, it was too late: Broadway magnate A.L. Erlanger had already scheduled another production for the Liberty, to begin October 1st. With no home on Broadway, Magnolia was forced onto the road after a mere forty performances. A ten-page letter dated September 20th sees Tarkington furiously blaming the booking office; admitting that "we began weakly" but convinced that word-of-mouth was saving the play, he is baffled that "we are exiled, not by the outsiders—the attacking critics—but by fellow workmen on our side of the theatre: I had made up my mind that if the theatrical critics stopped Magnolia I would write "movies" instead of plays; and if a blunder on our side of the fence has stopped it I think my decision twice as good." Ironically, the final item of correspondence is a telegram from Aarons to Tarkington stating that he has sold the motion picture rights to Magnolia for $36,000.
Bonhams
Jun. 23, 2010
TARKINGTON, BOOTH. 1869-1946.
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
8 Autograph Letters Signed ("Booth Tarkington"), the last a fragment, 31 pp, various sizes, Indianapolis, IA, and Kennebunkport, ME, February 25-September 25, 1923, to producer Alfred E. Aarons and stage director Ira Hards, occasional light toning and paperclip marks. With 3 related theater programs. A playwright's odyssey from anticipation of the opening night to horror as the play is "forced out of New York." Set in the ante-bellum South, Magnolia charted the progress of Tom Rumford from bookish, God-fearing youth to hard-drinking, hard-fighting, hard-gambling monster. The correspondence opens with Tarkington applauding Aarons and Hands' suggestion of Leo Carrillo for the lead, and continues with his opinions on each casting choice. When asked his preference for an interior or exterior set, the playwright launches into an extraordinary five-page monologue touching on such minutiae as the positioning of grass mats and the darkness of foliage ("suggestive of palm leaves low down somewhere")—while admitting that "I am apt to think my own conceived picture of a scene the best—but recognize this as a possible weakness." There is then a hiatus, during which Magnolia opened at the Liberty Theatre on August 27, 1923. We next hear from Tarkington two days later, nit-picking ("The butterfly wasn't good—looked like a maple leaf," "did you fill the gap between the curtains in Act II?") and lamenting the reviews ("The damage may be fatal") which were in fact generally positive; he concedes, nonetheless, that "the audience was really with us." Turn-out, however, was lackluster, and although Magnolia blossomed in the third week, it was too late: Broadway magnate A.L. Erlanger had already scheduled another production for the Liberty, to begin October 1st. With no home on Broadway, Magnolia was forced onto the road after a mere forty performances. A ten-page letter dated September 20th sees Tarkington furiously blaming the booking office; admitting that "we began weakly" but convinced that word-of-mouth was saving the play, he is baffled that "we are exiled, not by the outsiders—the attacking critics—but by fellow workmen on our side of the theatre: I had made up my mind that if the theatrical critics stopped Magnolia I would write "movies" instead of plays; and if a blunder on our side of the fence has stopped it I think my decision twice as good." Ironically, the final item of correspondence is a telegram from Aarons to Tarkington stating that he has sold the motion picture rights to Magnolia for $36,000.
Bonhams
Dec. 04, 2009
TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). Autograph letter signed ("N. B. Tarkington"), to Mr. Phillips, 4 January [no year]. WITH TWO HUMOROUS PENCIL AND INK DRAWINGS. 3 pages, 4to .
Est: $200 - $400
TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). Autograph letter signed ("N. B. Tarkington"), to Mr. Phillips, 4 January [no year]. WITH TWO HUMOROUS PENCIL AND INK DRAWINGS. 3 pages, 4to. DRINKING HIMSELF UNDER THE TABLE WITH A GIFT BOTTLE OF SCOTCH "Mrs. Tarkington has gone to the Opera," Tarkington tells Mr. Phillips, "& I am spending the evening quietly at home enjoying your present," a bottle of scotch. Tarkington draws a comic self-portrait of himself lying drunk under the table with the near-empty bottle and a knocked over glass resting on the tabletop. "There are some presents," he continues, "that one wants to share with others, and some with which one would rather be alone. And the latter is the case with yours. During the whole evening only one other person has dropped in." And here the second drawing appears: a bug-eyed, bloodshot, green snake-a DT's hallucination. "In a way I feel guilty about accepting this amber bottle, since I know the supply of such good stuff is necessary limited... At all events I couldn't give a great deal of it back now..." If the letter dates from after 1911 then it's a tongue-in-cheek lampoon of his former, hard drinking self. If it's pre-1911, then it's a fairly accurate depiction of how he passed his evenings. In 1911 Tarkington's alcoholism destroyed his first marriage and caused him to swear-off alcohol for good. His restored health and energy led to his greatest artistic achievements. His two masterpieces, The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams, both date from his sober years.
Christie's
Aug. 16, 2009
TARKINGTON, BOOTH.
Est: $400 - $600
Approx. 80 vols., including: The Gentleman from Indiana. NY: 1899. Signed & inscribed. * Alice Adams. Garden City: 1921. Jacket. * Gentle Julia. Garden City: 1922. Signed & inscribed. Jacket.
Bonhams
Apr. 05, 2008
BOOTH TARKINGTON (1869-1946). American author and
Est: -
BOOTH TARKINGTON (1869-1946). American author and dramatist winning Pulitzer Prizes for his novels, The Magnificent Ambersons (1918) and Alice Adams (1921). Quarter-length photograph by Pirie Mac Donald, Photographer-Of-Men, NY, gelatin print, 7"x101/2". Darkly signed in black ink on photographer's mount beneath image with Mac Donald's many international awards imprinted on verso. Some silvering; minor wrinkle at left edge. Presented in window frame; overall 10"x13". Accompanied by inscribed AQS, three lines from his book Monsieur Beaucaire (1900). "'An' live men are jus' - names!' said M. Beaucaire." Darkly penned and signed. Inscribed for JUDGE WALTER BEALS, possibly the same judge who in December1946 presided at the first Subsequent Nuremberg Trials during which Nazi doctors were accused of human experimentation. Parchment-type paper evidences some wrinkling; and fading of crest at top margin, though text and signature remain quite strong. Est: $150-300
Signature House
Oct. 13, 2007
[ AUTOGRAPHS ]
Est: -
BOOTH TARKINGTON (1869-1946). American author and dramatist awarded Pulitzer Prizes for his novels, The Magnificent Ambersons (1918) and Alice Adams (1921). TLS "Tark," 1p, 5"x73/4", Indianapolis, Apr 26, 1922 On address imprinted letterhead to his
Signature House
Jun. 19, 2007
TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). The Magnificent Ambersons . Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918.
Est: $4,000 - $6,000
TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). The Magnificent Ambersons . Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1918. 8 o. Illustrated by Arthur William Brown. (Some pale mostly marginal spotting.) Original maroon cloth (Johnson's state b); pictorial dust jacket (a few tears and some chipping with minor losses, small hole on spine panel, some spotting). Provenance : Harriet E. Beyer (pencil signature on front free endpaper). FIRST EDITION, IN THE RARE DUST JACKET. Tarkington's novel portrays the changing landscape of the American dream as it follows the decline of the aristocratic and wealthy Amberson family. Believing that "being things" is preferable to "doing things," the Ambersons refusal to change and their eventual fall is sharply contrasted with the social and industrial evolution of the early 20th century. RARE: According to American Book Prices Current , no copy with the dust jacket has sold at auction in the past thirty years.
Christie's
Nov. 30, 2005
MULFORD, Clarence (1883-1956). Hopalong Cassidy Returns. New York: Doubleday Page, 1924.
Est: £300 - £500
MULFORD, Clarence (1883-1956). Hopalong Cassidy Returns. New York: Doubleday Page, 1924. -- Black Buttes. New York: Doubleday Page, 1923. Both 8°, original pictorial cloth and dustjackets (jackets chipped and torn with loss); TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). The Magnificent Ambersons. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1918. 8°, red cloth, pictorial dustjacket (front jacket detached). ALL FIRST EDITIONS. With more than 500 other westerns and American popular novels, the majority from the years 1900-40. Provenance: John Fry Schroeder (ink inscription on front endpaper of most of the books). A STUNNING COLLECTION OF WESTERNS AND HISTORICAL/ROMANTIC FICTION FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF POPULAR WRITING, including works by Rafael Sabatini, W.C. Tuttle, Clem Yore and Robert W. Chambers. Most of the books are American first editions and many feature superb dustjacket artwork by Remington Schuyler and artists of equal calibre.
Christie's
Jun. 17, 2005
TARKINGTON, BOOTH.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Penrod. New York: Doubleday, Page and Co., 1914 Condition Note: first edition, first issue (numeral "viii" present at foot of that page, "sence" for "sense" present on page 19), 8vo (7 3/8 x 4 15/16 in.; 187 x 127mm.), illustrations by Gordon Grant, original blue meshed cloth lettered on spine and upper cover in white with design on upper cover in white and black, dust-jacket, collector's green cloth box, head and foot of spine slightly worn, dust-jacket soiled with some tears and very minor loss LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Peter Parley to Penrod pp.132-33
Sotheby's
Jun. 17, 2005
TARKINGTON, BOOTH.
Est: $300 - $500
The Gentleman from Indiana. New York: Doubleday & McClure Co., 1899 Condition Note: first edition, first issue (p.245 "eye" for "glance" and p.245 "so pretty" for "her heart"), bram stoker's copy with ownership signature and address ("Bram Stoker | 18 St Leonards Terrace | Chelsea | London S.W.") on front fixed endpaper, 8vo (7 7/8 x 5 1/8 in.; 201 x 131mm.), original green cloth with lettering and design in red, green and gilt on spine and upper cover (corn device top-side-down on spine), collector's green cloth box, minor spotting, binding slightly bumped at foot of spine PROVENANCE Bram Stoker, signature LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Bruccoli and Clark I, p.369 CATALOGUE NOTE A silent film adaptation, directed by Frank Lloyd, was released in 1915.
Sotheby's
Jun. 05, 2005
TARKINGTON, BOOTH
Est: $75 - $100
1076. BOOTH TARKINGTON (1869-1946) American novelist, author of The Magnificent Ambersons and a Pulitzer Prize winner. T.L.S., 1p. 4to., Kennebunkport, July 6, 1938 noting that "...In the matter of presenting stories of mine to the motion picture studios, I am still bound by an arrangement with Carl Brandt. I should be glad to let you know if at any time my understanding with hat office should be abrogated..." Fine condition. Together with two signatures, each on 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" cards. Three pieces, fine condition. $75-100
Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
Apr. 27, 2005
TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). Penrod. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1914.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
8 o. Original pictorial blue cloth; dust jacket (some very minor dust soiling); quarter morocco slipcase. Provenance: Jean Hersholt (bookplate). FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE, with page viii so numbered and with the 3rd line from the bottom of p.19 reading "sence"; first issue jacket without the reviews on the rear panel. Peter Parley to Penrod 132. VERY SCARCE IN A DUST JACKET.
Christie's
Dec. 16, 2004
TARKINGTON, Booth (1869-1946). Penrod. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1914.
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
8 o. Original blue-mesh cloth; dust jacket (inner flaps with corners clipped, a bit soiled, some wear at corners, small split at foot of front joint, head of spine a bit chipped). FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE, with page viii so numbered and with the 3rd line from the bottom of p.19 reading "sence"; first issue jacket without the reviews on the rear panel. Peter Parley to Penrod 132. VERY SCARCE IN A DUST JACKET.
Christie's
Oct. 14, 2000
TARKINGTON, BOOTH
Est: $400 - $600
(1869-1946)Seven Titles, all First editions and all signed and inscribed, IMAGE OF JOSEPHINE, Garden City, 1945; WANTON MOLLY, Garden City, 1932; KATE FENNIGATE, Garden City, 1943; RUMBIN GALLERIES, Garden City, 1937; HERITAGE OF HATCHER IDE, New York, 1941; THE FIGHTING LITTLES, Garden City, 1941; MARY'S NECK, Garden City, 1932; all but one with dust jackets, (chipped).
Skinner