Booth Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSN/MN 10044

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials relating to the family and careers of artists Franklin and Hanson Booth. It contains family portraits, print ephemera, and writings created by Franklin Booth, his sister Julia Booth Christian, brother Frederick Booth, sister-in-law Margaret Booth, niece Portia Booth, and nephews Jim Christian and Paul Christian II. Writings of family friend and Franklin Booth aficionado Howard C. Caldwell are also found. Topics of note include Booth Family history, Franklin Booth’s childhood and formative experiences, as well as recollections of his later visits to Indiana. Materials include photographs, letters, manuscripts, clippings, published items, a notebook, and one typescript for an unpublished book illustrated with original artwork.

Dates

Creation: 1890 - 1976

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical / Historical

Born into a farming family in Hamilton County, Indiana, brothers Franklin Booth (1874-1948) and Hanson Booth (1886-1944) were successful illustrators during the Golden Age of Illustration.

Franklin Booth worked in pen and ink, in a style noted for dramatic, flowing delineation, and illustrated books and popular publications including Scribner’s, McClure’s, Ladies’ Home Journal, Collier’s, and The Saturday Evening Post. Franklin lived and worked at 57th Street and 6th Avenue in New York City, and was an art teacher and co-founder of The Phoenix Art Institute.

Hanson Booth was an illustrator who worked in charcoal and pencil. Like his brother, he illustrated books and periodicals. In 1920, he built a log home in Woodstock, New York, where he lived for the remainder of his life.