A Guide to the Booth Tarkington Papers Tarkington, Booth, Papers 7416-t

A Guide to the Booth Tarkington Papers

A Collection in
The Clifton Waller Barrett Library
Special Collections
The University of Virginia Library
Accession number 7416-t

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
USA
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Reference Request Form: https://small.lib.virginia.edu/reference-request/
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Processed by: Special Collections Staff

Repository

Special Collections, University of Virginia Library

Collection Number

7416-t

Title

Booth Tarkington Collection

Physical Characteristics

The collection consists of 90 items.

Language

English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Booth Tarkington Collection, Clifton Waller Barrett Library, Accession #7416-t, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was purchased from David J. Holmes, 2002 August 1.

Scope and Content

Collection of letters, manuscripts and ephemera by, or relating to, Booth Tarkington, a portion from the papers of his secretary, Elizabeth (Betty) Trotter.

Original manuscripts in the collection include "Edgar XIV Title The Little Saw"; a silent film scenario in the "Edgar Pomeroy" series; a synopsis of the play "Colonel Satan" about Aaron Burr; a description in the hand of Trotter "About Wanton Molly"; a statement about American school children; an untitled article beginning "How shall 'we the prople' make up our minds which way to vote in November [1940?]; "Flanner House"; an untitled page beginning "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link"; a typescript "Blind eyes or wits" for a "Save your vision week"; a speech "The colonel and 1942"; an untitled tribute for "Big Murray"; manuscript beginning "Mr. Tarkington's nurses say they go in fear" by Elizabeth Trotter; an essay "Brain sand"'; and two original manuscripts in the hand of Eliabeth Trotter, possibly from Tarkington's dictation, beginning "Did you have a good time dear" and "Cynthia Weldon is my first cousin."

Topics in Tarkington's correspondence, several of which are in the hand of Trotter, include stories for publication; Robert H. Davis; vision problems and home remedies for blindness; possible collaboration with N. C. Wyeth; censorship of sexual references and "Anthony Adverse"; John Coffee's bill to transform the Federal Arts Project into a permanent government agency, Harry Byrd's opinion on the former, and income tax deductions for art purchases; economic and labor problems,the depression and the Works Progress Administration; the Munich Agreement; Picasso as the Father Divine of art; presidential term limits; his characters "Ames Lanning" and "Josephine" and creating characters readers like; World War II including an anecdote about plane spotting, a reference to a young acquaintance missing in action, and unfavorable comments on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt; the rescue of stray dogs; and a severe winter storm at Kennebunkport.

Correspondents include Edward R. Burke, Frederick A. Duneka, Lloyd Frankenburg, Fanny Hurst, Ray Baker Harris, Robert Underwood Johnson, Fred Kelly, William Charles Lengel, Walter Moses, Adelaide W. Neall, Wellington Roe, Roger Livingston Scaife, [Abraham or Elkan?] Silberman, [Henry?] Pratt [Smith?], Mrs. William H. Trotter, Warrack Wallace, and a secretary to William H. Wilmer.

Correspondence of Mrs. William H. Trotter with her daughter Elizabeth, Allan A. Hunter, Henry G. Leach, and Robert Emmet MacAlarney chiefly concerns Tarkington. Topics include Scott Nearing and a coming class struggle, Lyell Rader, The Forum magazine, stage play "The poor nut," Tarkington's "Mirthful haven" and "Seventeen," Elizabeth's writing, the New Deal, John Main Coffee, and the European war.

Miscellaneous items include a comically illustrated bill; a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; various printed reviews, advetisements, and two bulletins from the Indiana Committee for National Defense, 1941, and unidentified photographs.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series: Series I. Manuscripts. -- Series II Subseries A. Correspondence of Booth Tarkington. -- Series II Subseries B. Correspondence about Booth Tarkington. -- Series III. Photographs, Printed and Miscellany

Contents List

Series I: Manuscripts

Box-folder 1:1
1919 Original Manuscript "Edgar XIV Title The Little Saw," an unsigned holograph manuscript of a silent film scenario by Tarkington, in pencil on yellow paper with numerous revisions, deletions, and additions in the author's hand. Probably a draft for a silent movie in the "Edgar Pomeroy" series, produced by Goldwyn Pictures Corporation in 1919-1920. The text consists of the captions to appear in the film, headed "Printed" such as "What Mr. Pomeroy wanted for Christmas – but didn't expect" and descriptions of the actual scenes entitled "Picture" such as "Mr. Pomeroy in his law office – not an elaborate or very important one." AMs,

23 pages on 23 leaves
Box-folder 1:2
[ca. 1930?] Synopsis of the play "Colonel Satan" written by Booth Tarkington about Aaron Burr, AMs, in pencil, on 1 l.

2 pages
Oversize
1932 September Manuscript "Note on Wanton Mally " for Doubleday, AMs, in pencil on orange paper, (oversize)

1 page
Oversize
[1932?] "About Wanton Mally " Original manuscript in pencil on orange folio paper, unsigned, with revisions throughout, written in the hand of Elizabeth Trotter, possibly by dictation from Tarkington, with the text beginning, "Upon the surface Wanton Mally might appear to be a romantic fantasia decorated with Gallic grace-notes and somewhat irresponsibly executed in a seventeenth century key; on the contrary, it is the effort to decipher the meaning of a portrait ["The Ugly Lady"]. AMs, in pencil on orange paper, (oversize)

2 pages on 2 leaves
Box-folder 1:3
1938 April 10 Statement about American Schoolchildren by Booth Tarkington

TMs, carbon copy, 1 page,
Box-folder 1:4
1938 April 13 Quotation from Variety concerning the Reorganization Bill in Congress,

TMs, 1 page
Box-folder 1:5
[1940?] Untitled Article beginning, "How shall 'We the People' make up our minds which way to vote in November? All up and down the land there is a great clamor of voices shouting answers." The election in question was the 1940 presidential race between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wendell Wilkie.

TMsS, carbon copy; 6 pages on 6 leaves,
Box-folder 1:6
1941 Typescript "Flanner House" by Booth Tarkington,

TMs, one a title page, carbon copy; 3 pages on 3 leaves,
Box-folder 1:7
[post 1941] Untitled Manuscript beginning "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link," possibly by Booth Tarkington,

TMs, incomplete, 1 page,
Box-folder 1:8
1942 March 8-14 Typescript "Blind Eyes or Wits" For "Save Your Vision Week," appeared in The Indiana Optometrist and The Indianapolis News

TMs, carbon copy, 1 page
Box-folder 1:9
1942 October Speech "The Colonel and 1942" given by Booth Tarkington at the presentation of the Roosevelt Medal in New York, with envelope addressed to Mrs. William Henry Trotter,

TMs, carbon copy, 5 pages on 5 leaves,
Box-folder 1:10
[1942 October?] Untitled Memorial Tribute for "Big Murray" [Harold Griffith Murray], a classmate of Tarkington's at Princeton University in 1893, published in The Princeton Alumni Weekly,

TMs, carbon copy, 2 pages on 2 leaves,
Box-folder 1:11
n.y. June 8 "Notes on a Trip Up Williams Mountain, Albemarle Island," by an unknown author,

TMs, 4 pages on 4 leaves
Box-folder 1:12
n.d. Original Untitled Manuscript, with revision, by Elizabeth Trotter, with the text beginning, "Mr. Tarkington's nurses say that they go in fear - fear lest other nurses, rendered savage by envy, will have their lives. For Mr. Tarkington's popularity as a patient, like his popularity in other lives, is extreme. As Mr. Tarkington's amanuensis, and part-time hospital reader-aloud of detective stories, I am in a most justly exalted position, and I cannot avoid suspecting that I was asked to write this article in order that the entire nursing staff of Johns Hopkins hospital might feel avenged."

AMs, 5 pages on 5 leaves
Box-folder 1:13
n.d. Christmas Greeting with a portion of "Beasley's Christmas Party" by Booth Tarkington,

TMs, 1 page
Box-folder 1:14
n.d. Essay "Brain Sand" about the dangers of losing our ability to remember, with penciled suggestions for additions and corrections throughout, possibly supplied by Booth Tarkington, with a full page of comments in pencil on the back of page five and addressed to "Elizabeth Trotter."

TMs, 5 pages on 5 leaves
Oversize
n.d. Original incomplete manuscript in pencil on orange folio paper of an untitled story, divided into two chapters and unsigned, with revisions throughout, written in the hand of Elizabeth Trotter, possibly by dictation from Tarkington, with the text beginning, "Did you have a good time, dear? Mrs. Carpenter incautiously asked her daughter, as the latter, dragging the heels of her cerise mules, came slowly into the dining-room to a late Sunday breakfast."

AMs, (oversize), 13 pages on 13 leaves
Oversize
n.d. Original incomplete manuscript in pencil on orange folio paper of an untitled story, unsigned, with revisions throughout, written in the hand of Elizabeth Trotter, possibly by dictation from Tarkington, with the text beginning, "Cynthia Weldon is my first cousin, and I felt a trifle ashamed of myself when I read in a newspaper that she was to be one of the season's debutantes. 'Dear me!' I thought. 'Little Cynthia's coming-out!'"

AMs,(oversize), 5 pages on 5 leaves

Series II: Correspondence

Subseries A: Letters to and from Booth Tarkington
- Box-folder 1:15
  1900 July 24 Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, to [Robert Underwood] Johnson, apologizes for his delay in answering his note due to his difficulty with his eyes and unfamiliarity with dictation; writes he has nothing near completion that has not already been promised to someone for publication but he has begun a story that may be ready by late fall that could possibly suit him; and recalls a very pleasant evening at his house in '96.
  
  ALS, 2 pages on 1 l.
- Box-folder 1:16
  [1906 November 5] Booth Tarkington, Champigny-sur-Marne, France, to [Frederick A.] Duneka, writes "On receipt of your letter stating that you thought it better not to use "His Own People" in the mag. but would print it in the Weekly I cabled you (Harpers) to return the mss to me. This was because I felt that to place the story in the Weekly would do neither you & the Weekly nor the story and me any good; might work a contrary effect in fact." Tarkington goes on to explain his reasoning about the story. He also asks if he is going to reprint James De Mille's Castle in Spain as he did the others.
  
  ALS, 3 pages on 2 leaves
- Box-folder 1:17
  1928 November 12 Booth Tarkington to Elizabeth Trotter, thanks her for the article from Scribner's, whose author is an English professor who appears interested in students in English and who feels that everyone should read poetry. Tarkington believes that he knows the reason for this odd thought, "The sight of your house at Chestnut Hill, or of the one at Kennebunkport would convince anyone of that. They are secluded without being withdrawn; thoughtful, but not scholastic; and they seem to say, 'There is time here for everything worthwhile."
  
  ALS, 2 pages on 1 leaf
- Box-folder 1:18
  1930 April 25 Telegram from Fannie Hurst, New York City, to Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, concerning the severe accident which placed Robert H. Davis in the hospital for months, asking Tarkington to submit one thousand words to appear in a column in The New York Sun called "Bob Davis Recalls" to help him out,
  
  1 page
- Box-folder 1:19
  [1930] Unsigned draft of a letter to [William Charles ?] Lengel, in pencil on orange paper with revisions, written in the hand of Elizabeth Trotter, probably from dictation by Booth Tarkington, saying "Herewith I am sending you the third of the stories, which was well toward completion before I went to S.H. Recalling that "Penrod" had appeared in the Post & Everybody before it moved to the Cosmopolitan, years ago, I hadn't realized that the latter might prefer, with the changing times, not to have "Mr. M" move in with his special baggage, ie. this third story is a 'Massey' one, having got so far along before your hint of preference was received." He assures him that the next three do not have Massey as a character and the fourth "Cider of Normandy" has an "American in Paris background."
  
  AL, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:19
  [1930] Unsigned draft of a letter to [William Charles ?] Lengel, in pencil on orange paper with revisions, written in the hand of Elizabeth Trotter, probably from dictation by Booth Tarkington, encloses the fourth story "Cider of Normandy" with its Parisian flavor, and notes that the "next story will revert to New England but not to Mr. Massey." He also plans for one of the six stories to be serious and not humorous in intent, with its meaning conveyed by "calamity in the drama."
  
  AL, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:20
  1931 February 16 Elizabeth Kerr, Secretary to Dr. William H. Wilmer, to Booth Tarkington, returning two typed letters (enclosed) which were sent to Tarkington while he was a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital, discussing home remedy treatments for blindness. Kerr writes that Dr. Wilmer really enjoyed seeing the letters and she promises to help him secure a photograph of Wilmer on his next visit. The two letters enclosed were from American Indian of the Piscataway Treaty Nation, Al Proctor S. Marsh (1872-?), New York City, January 31, 1931, and an unidentified correspondent from Modesto, California, January 31, 1931.
- Box-folder 1:21
  1935 May 17 Booth Tarkington, Kennebunkport, Maine, to [Roger Livingston] Scaife, regrets that he did not have time to call him during his brief pause in Boston but would very much like to meet Scaife and Mr. Sedgwick for lunch in Kennebunkport, Maine, if it could be arranged between now and December.
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:22
  1935 September 4 Booth Tarkington, Kennebunkport, Maine, to [Roger Livingston] Scaife, informs him that there is almost no chance of being able to do a book with Mr. Wyeth within the next two years. Tarkington then suggests they try "one of the new Maine writers," Isabel Hopestill Carter, who wrote the book Shipmates and has "the Maine feeling and a fine literary honesty in the expression of it."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:23
  1936 September 1 Booth Tarkington, Kennebunkport, Maine, to Ray Baker Harris, discusses censorship and the circumstances of the publication of his short story "His Own People" in the Saturday Evening Post which had been refused by Harper's due to the moral objection "that the young man kissed a lady on her shoulder. That 'wasn't done' in 1906. Nowadays we have "Anthony Adverse" and complete copulative description - recommended by educational authorities for high school reading!" Tarkington goes on to mention his article in the [ Saturday Evening ] Post "When Is It Dirt?" explaining "my own generation had really won the struggle for freedom of expression in print but that after the battle the camp followers arrived, committing excesses upon the field. The camp followers are having things their own way now, certainly, collecting dirt to sell, and of course they're not "daring" - camp followers never are."
  
  TLS, 2 pages on 2 leaves
- Box-folder 1:24
  1937 September 29 Booth Tarkington to Mr. Silberman, a New York City art dealer, complains that he has not seen a whale all summer long, regrets that he left before meeting his English visitors, who soon sail for home. He describes the activities of one of them, "Mr. Warner, 78, dances wildly every evening with Betty - tangos, Russian jigs, minuets and maudlin-like interpretative dancing." Tarkington also encloses the October issue of the little magazine of the Literary Guild, with advance notices of his book Rumblin Galleries for which Silberman supplied some background knowledge, as well as sending a copy to Mr. Vose in Boston since "they're calling him 'Mr. Rumblin' in Boston and elsewhere, and your brother circulated the rumor that I was Vose Galleries 'ideal client.' He also mentions having to decline an invitation to give an art lecture at the Minneapolis Museum of Art due to his health where "like your brother's favorite art lecturer, I could have mentioned my yacht."
  
  ALS, 2 pages on 1 leaf, in pencil on orange paper
- Box-folder 1:25
  1938 April 28 Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, to Lloyd Frankenberg, an enclosure with a note from Bet to Mussy, dated Thursday, where she describes the enclosed letter as a "monumental letter Mr. T's just written to the indignant young Poet of Greenwich Village, N.Y. who wrote in a restrained rage after he'd read the reprint of Mr. T's letter to Mr. Coffee in the Herald Tribune ." Tarkington was responding to Frankenberg's criticism of his letter to Mr. Coffee which he had not known would be printed. The point of disagreement appears to be the success and necessity of government subsidies of artists, good or bad, during the Depression and the bill sponsored by Representative John Coffee (D-WA) to transform the Federal Arts Project into a permanent government agency, the Bureau of Fine Arts.
  
  TL, carbon copy 10 pages on 10 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:26
  1938 April 29 Booth Tarkington to Wellington Roe, Writers' Committee for a Federal Bureau of Fine Arts, New York, disagrees that he has fifty contemporaries but if he does at his age he does not wish to enter into controversy with them and feels physically unable to come personally to the Conference to defend his position on the proposed Federal Arts Bill. He also explains how his letter to Mr. Coffee came to be published and suggests that Roe read Senator Byrd's article from the April Atlantic Monthly to the Conference instead of his letter to Coffee. He also suggests a better approach to help painters and sculptors would be to permit the purchase of works of art to be deducted from income taxes.
  
  TL, carbon copy, 2 pages on 2 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:27
  1938 August 5 Booth Tarkington, Kennebunkport, Maine, to Mr. Norcutt, thanks him for his birthday wishes and addresses his question about why human beings work at trying to make things, "I've tried to give hints as to what the answer may be in a novel of mine called Presenting Lily Mars; but of course it is a question that must be answered by everyone in a different way."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:28
  1938 October 6 Booth Tarkington to "Dear Warrack," [Warrack Wallace?] reviews the history of events in Europe from 1918 leading up to the rise of Hitler in Germany and the current status of the Treaty of Versailles. They were apparently discussing the repercussions of the Munich Agreement signed by Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier, and Benito Mussolini, on September 29, 1938, which transferred the Sudetenland to Germany and the subsequent march of the German army into the Sudetenland on October 1, 1938.
  
  TL, carbon copy, 4 pages on 4 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:29
  1939 January 30 Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, to [Abraham?] Silberman, encloses on thousand dollars payment on the Titian painting, leaving a debt of two thousand, and expresses his pleasure at seeing Mr. and Mrs. Elkan Silberman while they were in town, and hopes to see him and Dr. Ganz soon.
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:30
  1939 May 7 "C. Coolidge, Jr." [Booth Tarkington] to "From a letter to Fred Kelly," discusses the economic woes of the times, the limitations of money, the causes of unemployment, the Works Progress Administration and its use of its relief recipients to vote in elections, and dangers of the society family administration who did not understand business,
  
  TL, carbon copy, 6 pages, on 6 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:31
  1939 May 29 [Booth Tarkington] to "Letter to Fred Kelly continued," describes the political characteristics of the Nazis, communism, and a Republic, concluding, "I say: no liberty except under a Republic governed by as little Law as enables men to compete for their own profit without openly robbing one another!"
  
  TL, carbon copy, 2 pages on 2 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:32
  1939 May 29 [Booth Tarkington] to "Dear Mr. Secretary," discusses current economic and labor problems, which he summarizes as three "egoisms" fighting for power, employers, labor leaders, and politicians, "3 egoisms working to get Power out of all us other fellers, the workingman, Which we going to be Fer? The one that - promises us the most, of course-if we believe him. Which one had we better be Fer. The one that'll give us the most. We'd better look into those promises!"
  
  TL, carbon copy, 4 pages on 4 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:33
  1939 December 26 Booth Tarkington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Mr. Silberman, promises to look into a rumor about the supposed acquisition of a Titian in Indianapolis; will leave in a week to allow Betty to recover her strength; Mrs. Tarkington was called suddenly to New York by the violent illness of Miss Keifer with food poisoning; and writes "I hope you aren't buying any Picassos; I think there are signs that the whole circus is beginning to droop - just beginning but the flop will follow. Father Devine, too, begins to look punctured after a long success, and, since Pic is the Father Divine of Art, it's appropriate that they're on their way out together."
  
  ALS, 2 pages on 1l.
- Box-folder 1:34
  1940 August 29 [Booth Tarkington] to the Honorable Senator Edward R. Burke, Committee on the Judiciary, writes concerning the reasons he supports limiting the tenure of the office of the Presidency,
  
  TL, carbon copy, 2 pages on 2 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:35
  1941 March 5 [Booth Tarkington] to "Most Honored Guest of Sigma Chi," [Fred], expresses his high regard for Fred, his fellow Brother of the Delta Delta chapter of Sigma Chi, by letter since he cannot be present to speak in person,
  
  TL, carbon copy, 2 pages on 2 leaves,
- Box-folder 1:36
  1941 December 30 [Booth Tarkington] to A. Neall, Saturday Evening Post, writes concerning his character "Ames Lanning" and about serials in general, "I should keep a reminder-slogan before me on the wall of my workroom: 'Reader's got to LIKE somebody!' -I'm too much interested in the yoomanbeins as such, in my stories, making 'em out of realities that swarm them together from mosaic memory cubes - too absorbed in that to remember that the reader, too, isn't (in numbers) of this persuasion. He has to like the important people, as in some measure, replicas of himself, or else they must seem to be his neighbor (exposed) or they must be so queer, and probably monstrous, as to interest him in the fairy story of their doings, or else one of them must be the reader himself (a perfect being who is also the author) having wunfle [wonderful?] adventures and love affairs vicariously."
  
  TL, typescript copy, 1 page,
- Oversize
  1942 January 19 Booth Tarkington to "Dear Pratt" [Henry Pratt Smith?] concerning the state of the war, tells a humorous story of a local enemy plane spotter from Kennebunkport who saw a black plane overhead and "hurried back to the village and reported the black plane to Mitchell Field - in a letter." He goes on to compare the current time to World War I, 1918, after Ludendorff had thrust through to Amiens, when all the military authorities, diplomats, and newspapers were gloomy. Even after the Germans fell behind the Hindenburg Line, they all predicted a long war ahead. (oversize)
  
  ALS, in pencil, on orange folio paper, 2 pages,
- Box-folder 1:37
  1942 January 24 "Pratt" [Henry Pratt Smith?] to Booth Tarkington, thanks him for his letter, appreciates that the coast is well protected and thinks that hunting for subs with depth bombs would be a more interesting and exciting sport than hunting whales; he also gives his assessment of the state of the war, expecting Hitler to revamp and dash off to Africa through Spain and Portugal, and through Turkey to the Dardanelles to grab the Mediterranean; discusses the debate about whether it will be more effective to tackle the Pacific or Europe first; worries if the Axis powers are able to take control of the Philippines, Singapore and the Dutch East Indies, since that could prolong the war by at least five years, concluding: "All that we can do is to hope, keep our chins up and trust that a reorganization of those in charge of our production in Washington will bring about a situation where maximum results may be obtained. I consider it quite an accomplishment for Mr. Big [F.D. Roosevelt?] to do as he should have done a year or a year and a half ago, appoint one competent individual at the head of our defense program, which I think is the most encouraging step that has been taken, but whether or not he will keep hands off is still somewhat problematical, and if we could get Mrs. Big to retire gracefully from her continuous and irritating activities, we would be still better off."
  
  TLS, 2 pages on 2 leaves
- Box-folder 1:38
  1943 March 19 [Walter Moses] to Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, with news clipping, Moses, a classmate of Tarkington while at Princeton, in the Class of '95, thanks him for his letter to the City Council of Indianapolis urging the rescue of stray dogs by the establishment of a downtown municipal pet shop where stray dogs will be sold for four dollars. Tarkington's letter first appeared in The Indianapolis Star, March 16, 1943, under the caption "Tribute to Man's Friends."
  
  TLS, carbon copy, 1 page,
- Box-folder 1:39
  1943 March 25 Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, to Walter Moses, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, expresses his obligation to his dogs and those of Mr. and Mrs. Moses, because his letter about stray dogs has brought a letter from an old school friend,
  
  TLS, 1 page, with envelope
- Box-folder 1:40
  1943 October 14 Booth Tarkington, Kennebunkport, Maine, to Elizabeth Trotter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sends news about Kennebunkport, the C.G. dinner and celebration, an explanation about the gift of a pair of amber bottles as tokens of birthday esteem from Booth and his wife, Susanah Keifer Robinson Tarkington, news of Betty, and a story about Miss L. Keifer being threatened by boys throwing rocks at his front terrace and about 75 or 80 gray squirrels "trying nobly to hit her with acorns."
  
  ALS, in pencil, 2 pages on 1 l., with envelope
- Box-folder 1:41
  1944 December 13 Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, to Elizabeth Trotter, writes about one of the boys from the area, who was just 19, missing in action; the request by the Army and Navy for everyone not to travel on the trains during the holidays to leave space for the servicemen, so Betty just can't get home if she tried; mentions the gale and great tide and its effect upon Kennebunkport where part of the seawall is down and Scott Campbell's lawn and cellar ran deep with salt water.
  
  ALS, in pencil, 2 pages on 1 l., with envelope and a news clipping review on "First Principles of Verse" by Robert Hillyer
- Box-folder 1:42
  1945 March 8 Booth Tarkington, Indianapolis, Indiana, to Elizabeth Trotter, writes concerning her observations about his book Image of Josephine, "I'm glad you 'got' the girl in this book… You're off track, though, when you say I give Josephine a mean set of trials; the author doesn't do those things - he's a detached observer of what happens and this ("what happens") grows out of the basic 'situation' and the characters therein inter-engaged. Once that 'situation' is set, the rest is mechanical, can't be interfered with. The clue to Josephine comes late in the book when her opponent, old [?] says 'Fine girl!" He also writes about Susanah's proposed trip to New York in order to accept the Academy's Howells Medal for him for his work since 1940 on May 18th and Mr. Roberts news that it will take an Act of Congress to remove the disgusting mural from the village post office at Kennebunkport.
  
  ALS, in pencil, 2 pages on 1 l., with envelope and a news clipping of an article by Booth Tarkington "Shall We Choose Insanity?" from The Indianapolis Star, March 29, 1945
- Box-folder 1:43
  n.d. Booth Tarkington to A.C. Hotel, a note in pencil, clarifying his reservations at the hotel,
  
  ANS, in pencil, 1 page
Subseries B: Correspondence concerning Booth Tarkington
- Box-folder 1:44
  1924 October 6 Allan A. Hunter, Wallace Lodge, New York, to Elizabeth Trotter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, while attending a "retreat" which has proved more a "wrangle" has been busy discussing programs and philosophies for the new social order, with Scott Nearing insisting that a catastrophic class struggle is economically foreordained; and responds to an article by saying it will be a temptation to construct a sermon around "the incident of Lyell Rader and his exploitation of Job." Hunter is also glad that she likes R[upert?] Brooke and he appreciates the humor in her own article, where she reminds him of her sister,
  
  ALS, 7 pages on 7 leaves
- Box-folder 1:45
  1925 June 5 Henry G. Leach, editor of The Forum, to Elizabeth Trotter, thanks her for all she has done with Booth Tarkington and encourages her to send the "Mad Tea-Party" to Mr. Shaw, saying "He is insulting to even to flattery and this will render him breathless, for five seconds at least."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:45
  1925 June 16 Henry G. Leach, editor of The Forum, to Elizabeth Trotter, writes that he will appreciate anything that she can persuade Tarkington to do to help establish The Forum, and will pay him double the regular rates but cannot yet compete with Curtis and Crowell. Leach writes about what he would like to see from Tarkington, "an essay blowing to bits the inferiority complexes of our young people (by the way, I saw "The Poor Nut" last night and recommend it), or a very short story that would be too short for his regular magazines. Nothing serious at all. We need humor in The Forum and if we get it attached to Booth Tarkington's name, we want it as light as possible."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:46
  1927 July 15 Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, remarks upon the extremely hot weather in Philadelphia and asks about Betty, writing "Tell Betty to plug hard at the story thing. She is the luckiest of girls to have a chance to be coached by the man who wrote Seventeen."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:46
  1927 October 6 Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, tries to arrange a time to visit at Cleeve Gate or to lunch with her in Philadelphia,
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:46
  [ca. 1927] July 12 Robert Emmet MacAlarney(1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, mentions the very hot weather in Manhattan, rejoices in the recovery of her dog, recommends J. Forrest as "a perfection of male type for the setting down" to an aspiring lady author; refers to an alleged statement by BT in the newspaper, discounting the trousers paragraph, and also waving aside "the interview in the Manhattan papers which made him refer to The Plutocrat, that we begin printing in the fall, as a poor novel."
  
  TLS, 3 pages on 3 leaves
- Box-folder 1:46
  [ca. 1930] Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, gives his impression of Mirthful Haven by Booth Tarkington in which he felt Tarkington withheld his punches because he was drawing upon the background of Kennebunkport, but still produced a fine book. "More than once Sarah Orne Jewett crept into my mind while I read. Which BT would take as a compliment, I am sure. After all, the true test of any novel is: does the reader dwell in the environment of his page characters as well as feel with them. And somehow, albeit I know mine own fleeting impressions of the spot you love, I now have an impression that I've lived there for moons. The odors, the vistas, the sounds of the rocky coast… they filled a Ghetto living room last night. And can any writer demand more than realization that he wiped off the map for a couple of hours such a horrendous terrain?"
  
  ALS, 3 pages on 3 leaves
- Box-folder 1:46
  [1931] Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, remarks upon how much Booth Tarkington is not only respected and appreciated but actually loved by many of his readers; has purchased yet another copy of Seventeen to distribute because he feels it is among the best of his writing, having captured the essence of youth for all time; and says of Tarkington, "He has helped so many of us humans to keep on an even keel. For he has never preached tolerance and understanding - he has radiated it, in, between, and behind his lines. There lies a Sahara desert between preaching and radiating." He also mentions the actor Henry Ainley (1879-1945) and Barton Currie, whose book on collecting is finished.
  
  TLS, 3 pages on 3 leaves
- Box-folder 1:46
  [n.y. March] Friday Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, discusses Betty's story under her pseudonym, "I like this story better than anything she has ever done. I mean that. It has more sediment style. She has made Mrs. Dale real, and Mrs. D's are not easily made that." He also discusses Prohibition, lists his own beliefs in a Minor Charta of nine points under the broad subjects of Archaeology, Authors, including: Chaucer, Samuel Johnson, Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, and Booth Tarkington; Religions of all stripes; and Cleeve Gate and the mistress thereof; and also sends birthday greetings to William Henry Trotter.
  
  TLS, 4 pages on 4 leaves
- Box-folder 1:46
  Sunday morning Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, writes that he is unable to return to Green Hill until June, has to go to Carlisle and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to take care of some matters for his mother, has an engagement in New England to speak to some junior college girls, remarks about the "three recent flying fools" in New York and the ensuing hysteria created by them.
  
  TLS, 2 pages on 2 leaves
- Box-folder 1:46
  Good Friday Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, writes about Booth Tarkington "being exploited as he emerges from a ghastly experience. But he is lucky to emerge at all."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:46
  Tuesday morning Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, "the news in re BT is stunning. What a joy to know that the third operation is unnecessary! Betty is standing by like a brick. And how much she must be learning. I envy her that chance. The new Penrod stories shall be grabbed when they appear. I have been reading avidly all that came out en magazine. But that is not the right way to read BT. You want him between cloth covers. I still feel that he should do Seventeen-Plus. It's been a fetish of mine, but I can't make BC make him see it."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:46
  Wednesday morning Robert Emmet MacAlarney (1873-1944) to Elizabeth Trotter, has torn up Betty's annotated letter concerning Booth Tarkington, saying "Logic would arrange that the worthwhile folk, who have given as well as taken from life, should be insured against unnecessary aches and frustrations." Incomplete letter
  
  TLS, 1 page,
- Box-folder 1:47
  1916 September 26 Bet [Miss Elizabeth Trotter] to "Dearest Mussy" [Mrs. William H. Trotter ("Elizabeth")], sends a postcard from Colorado Springs, Colorado,with two little metal burros attached, and writes "Hope you like the little burros. Will see you almost as soon as they - wild to get home to you."
- Box-folder 1:47
  [ca. 1935?] Bet [Miss Elizabeth Trotter] to "Dearest Mussy" [Mrs. William H. Trotter ("Elizabeth")], sends another copy of a letter by [Booth Tarkington] for her to read, promises to return the letter about Epernon [ of Old France ?], will wire the time of the arrival of the train, and describes a [pet?] container they will use on the train,
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:47
  [1938 October 6] Bet [Miss Elizabeth Trotter] to "Dearest Mussy" [Mrs. William H. Trotter ("Elizabeth")], her letter received but not read to Tarkington yet, encloses a copy of a letter Tarkington has written to Warrack Wallace, and still cleaning the floats and gangway at Seawood, Kennebunkport, Maine,
  
  ALS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:47
  [1938] Bet [Miss Elizabeth Trotter] to "Dearest Mussy" [Mrs. William H. Trotter ("Elizabeth")], encloses a copy of Mr. Coffee's classic cultural address and some copies of an item in Variety, "Interesting as yet another example of the trickiness of the New Dealists. Not much they don't stoop to." She also writes about finding mold on the inner pages of manuscripts in the most expensive and modern type of filing cabinet that is supposed to secret moisture in case of a fire, now she has to go over and wipe each page, laying them to dry separately, discusses the health of [Figaro?] the dog, and mentions that Tarkington has gone out to "a man's dinner" that he did not want to attend.
  
  ALS, 3 pages on 3 leaves
- Box-folder 1:47
  [1938] Bet [Miss Elizabeth Trotter] to "Dearest Mussy" [Mrs. William H. Trotter ("Elizabeth")], encloses copies of correspondence, mentions Tarkington's letter to Mr. Ludlow, their Democratic representative in Congress, which included a copy of his previous letter to Coffee, about whom she writes, "In spite of the fine print Mr. Coffee's address is worth reading. It's one of the most pathetically comic documents I've ever read - the poor culture-posing sap! The Unions ought to try to find a sponsor who can do a leetle bit better."
  
  TLS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:47
  n.y. April 22 Bet [Miss Elizabeth Trotter] to "Dearest Mussy" [Mrs. William H. Trotter ("Elizabeth")], has just returned from a family dinner at the country club "Woodstock" where Booth and Josephine Jameson were in high spirits and full of tales about their trip to Mexico, "such a nice family - & I longed for you."
  
  ALS, 1 page
- Box-folder 1:48
  1940 December 21 A. Warner, Great Britain, to Miss Elizabeth Trotter, "My Dear Betty," Indianapolis, Indiana, sends Christmas greetings, encourages her about her old rheumatic trouble, expresses thanks for the news from Egypt and the Mediterranean where Italy is becoming a grave liability to Hitler,
  
  ALS, 2 pages on 1 l., with envelope

Series III: Photographs, Printed and Miscellany

Box-folder 1:49
1928 January 16 Bill sent to Mrs. Wm. H. Trotter by L.D. Norton, featuring a caricature of a bird with an extremely long and large bill upon which the bill has been speared, with the note "This fellow is not exactly handsome, but I claim he is some bill collector. Can B classify him?" At the top of the bill is another note, "I sent him $75.00 of my Christmas money. He's the kind I like to help" presumably by Elizabeth Trotter
Box-folder 1:50
1935 April 19 Contract between Booth Tarkington and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation for motion picture rights to "Rennie Peddigoe"
Box-folder 1:51
n.d. Photographs and snapshots, of three young boys (including a tintype and a negative), a golfer, two men on a beach, a young woman, and a sailing ship, all are unidentified but presumably some of the photographs pertain to Booth Tarkington
Printed Items (10 items in one folder)
- Box-folder 1:52
  1928 January 16 Printed Review of Claire Ambler by Booth Tarkington in Time
- Box-folder 1:52
  1930 February 20 Printed Advertisement and Mail Order Form for tickets to The Plutocrat a new American comedy by Arthur Goodrich based on the novel of the same name by Booth Tarkington, 2 copies, one without the mail order form attached
- Box-folder 1:52
  1932 January Printed Book of the Month Club News featuring Mary's Neck by Booth Tarkington
- Box-folder 1:52
  1933 Printed "Reader's Choice for Christmas" New York Times Recommendation of Presenting Lily Mars by Booth Tarkington
- Box-folder 1:52
  1937 August Printed News clipping about Booth Tarkington and his career in the column "The Brighter Side" by Damon Runyon, from the Daily Mirror
- Box-folder 1:52
  1938 August 1-13 Printed Card for the Garrick Players and the Booth Tarkington Drama Festival plus an Exhibition of Tarkingtoniana at Dock Square
- Box-folder 1:52
  1941 February 13 Printed Bulletin [no number] masthead for Indiana Committee for National Defense, with a news clipping from The Indianapolis Star, dated February 16, 1941, glued on the page as the text for the bulletin and titled, "Statement by Temporary Chairman to Indianapolis Group"
- Box-folder 1:52
  1941 February 27 Printed Bulletin No. 16 Indiana Committee for National Defense, with mimeographed section
- Box-folder 1:52
  n.y. August 17 & 18 Printed Advertisement of Princess Obolensky Collection of Hand Quilted Things Made in Kentucky, with a hand-written note "next to the Schooner Regina on the River-road" at Kennebunkport, Maine