Arthur Tooth & Sons stock inventories and accounts, 1871-1959
Finding aid prepared by J. Gibbs.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Arthur Tooth & Sons stock inventories and accounts,
Date (inclusive): 1871-1959
Number: 860679
Creator/Collector:
Arthur Tooth & Sons
Physical Description:
36.0 volumes
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: Art dealer, based in London. Records comprise an incomplete series of stock inventories of the main London branch of the firm,
1871-1941, and 2 volumes from the New York branch, 1906-1924.
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Language: Collection material is in
English
Biographical/Historical Note
Arthur Tooth, the son of a framer, made his fortune selling etchings to wealthy Victorian patrons. Arthur Tooth & Sons was
founded in London, in 1842, with galleries in Haymarket. In its first years, the firm dealt primarily in 18th and early 19th-
century British paintings and drawings. After circa 1880, contemporary paintings and occasional old masters were increasingly
added to stock. Other works of art and artefacts, such as china, furniture, and books, begin to be listed in the stock inventories
after 1892. In the early 1900s, the firm opened a subsidiary branch in New York and closed it in 1924.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Arthur Tooth & Sons stock inventories and accounts, 1871-1959, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no.
860679.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa860679
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1986.
Processing History
Processed by J. Gibbs
Related Collections
Later Tooth stockbooks for the London office are in private hands, in London.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Tooth records comprise a continuous and incomplete series of stock inventories of the main London branch of the firm from
1871-1941. Inventories include detailed listings of purchases made and sales completed. Paintings sales are listed until 1945
and details of sales to 1957 are furnished in annotations in the latest stock inventory. An associated series of consignments,
1929-1959, provides information on works consigned to the firm by practising artists, private owners, and commercial enterprises.
The accounts of the London branch for 1913-1937 and 1942-1945 are chronicled in a series of 9 ledgers. The collection includes
records of the New York branch of the firm; stock inventories, 1906-1912, and accounts, 1919-1924. There appears to have been
regular movement of paintings between the two branches until the New York subsidiary closed in 1924. Records of a Paris subsidiary
of the firm are not represented in this collection.
Arrangement note
Arranged in 4 series:
Series I. London branch stock inventories, 1871-1945, 1957;
Series II. London branch consignments, 1928-1959;
Series III. London branch accounts 1913-1937, 1942-1945;
Series IV. New York branch, 1906-1912
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Names
Smith, Matthew, 1879-1959
Subjects - Corporate Bodies
Arthur Tooth & Sons
Tooth Galleries, London
Tooth Paintings, London
Subjects - Topics
Art dealers--Great Britain
Art dealers--United States
Art--Collectors and collecting
Art--Exhibitions
Decorative arts--Europe
Drawing--Europe
Painting--Europe
Genres and Forms of Material
Account books
Merchandise inventories
Container List
Series I.
London branch stock inventories,
1871-1945, 1957
Physical Description:
21.0 volumes
Scope and Content Note
Inventory recorded by stock numbers. Information includes date of acquisition, subject, artist, dimensions, bought of, cost,
sold for, date sold, to whom sold, and occasionally, remarks. If the work was unsold and remained in stock, this is usually
specified in the columns of "sale....to whom" by "Stock" and year it was carried over.
Box 1
Drawings,
1 January 1871-31 December 1878
Scope and Content Note
First entry is dated into stock as of 7 May 1868
Box 2
Ledger,
1 January 1879-31 December 1891
Scope and Content Note
On spine: Drawings. First entry is dated into stock as of 8 April 1873.
Scope and Content Note
Alphabetical index in front (referencing to ledger folio sheet).
Box 3
Drawings: Index,
1 July 1901
Scope and Content Note
Alphabetical index with references to folio/page numbers in another ledger.
Box 4
Paintings,
1 January 1871-16 July 1874
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 9 January 1868.
Box 5
Paintings,
1 July 1874-31 December 1880
Scope and Content Note
On spine: Pictures. First stock no. entry numbered "859" and dated into stock as of 18 July 1874. For year 1875, first stock
no. entry is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 8 January 1868.
Box 6
Paintings,
1 January 1881-31 December 1886
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 16 February 1872.
Box 7
Paintings,
1 January 1887-31 December 1891
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 19 January 1878. Alphabetical index of artists: in front, and
preceding folio sheet 1891 (referencing particular artist stock number, not Tooth's stock inventory number).
Box 8
Paintings,
1900
Scope and Content Note
On cover: Pictures Stock, 1 July 1903. Date on first page: 1 July 1900
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 17 January 1878.
Box 8
Total Stock No.1,
1 January 1892-30 June 1896
Scope and Content Note
Date on first page for "Painting": 31 December 1891. First stock entry for "Painting" is numbered "1" and dated into stock
as of 19 January 1878.
Box 9
Total Stock No. 2,
1 July 1896-30 June 1901
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry for "Painting" is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 17 January 1878.
Box 10
Total Stock No. 3,
1 July 1901-30 Aug 1905
Scope and Content Note
On spine: Stock, No. 3 (1 July 1901-30 June 1904). Date on first page for "Painting": 1 May 1901. Date of last entry for "Painting":
30 August 1905
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry for "Painting" is numbered "1145."
Box 11
Total Stock No. 4,
1 July 1905-30 June 1913
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry for "Painting" is numbered "1" and dated into stock as of 14 July 1878. Separate sections for paintings,
drawings, graphics, sculpture, china, and furniture.
Box 12
Total Stock No. 5,
1 July 1913-23 October 1923
Scope and Content Note
First stock entry for "Painting" is numbered "1" and is dated into stock as of 17 July 1878. Separate sections for paintings,
drawings, graphics, sculpture, china, and furniture.
Box 13
Total Stock No. 6,
November 1923-May 1935
Scope and Content Note
On binder: Stock, No. 6, 1 November 1923-6 April 1935. First stock entry for "Painting" is numbered "1" and is dated into
stock as of 31 July 1902. Separate sections for paintings, drawings, graphics, sculpture, china, and furniture.
Box 14
Total Stock,
January 1928-January 1943
Scope and Content Note
On spine: Other Publications, No. 4. Dates of recorded sales extend to 1957. Separate sections for paintings, drawings, graphics,
sculpture, china and furniture. Includes section of books in New York Branch: folio 101.
Box 15
Picture Sales No. 2,
25 April 1902-16 October 1914
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of paintings sales.
Box 16
Picture Sales No. 3,
26 November 1914-13 September 1927
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of paintings sales.
Box 17
Picture Sales No. 4,
15 September 1921-27 June 1928
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of paintings sales.
Box 17
Picture Sales No. 5,
27 June 1928-28 May 1934
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of paintings sales.
Box 18
Picture Sales No. 6,
1 June 1934-31 December 1937
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of paintings sales.
Box 18
Picture Sales No. 7,
3 January 1938-29 June 1945
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of paintings sales.
Series II.
London branch consignments,
1928-1959
Physical Description:
4.0 volumes
Scope and Content Note
Some volumes arranged similiarly to the Inventories in Series I. Many listings are consignments by the artists themselves.
Box 19
Paintings, Sculpture & Pottery,
January 1928-1932
Scope and Content Note
Mostly artists' consignments (among them Augustus John, Ben Nicholson, Matthew Smith, Brandon Davis). Index on f. 24.
Box 20
Paintings & Sculpture,
1932-1935
Scope and Content Note
First section devoted to consignments by artists, with subsequent sections for Augustus John and other artists. "Pictures
consigned by other than artists": folio 85 to 96. Alphabetical index in front (referencing to folio sheet).
Box 21
Consignments,
1928-1940
Scope and Content Note
On cover: Consignments, from 1-1-38. Earliest entry is in 1928 ("Sculpture"); majority of entries in 1930s. Consignments by
artists, dealers, private individuals-all separately listed. Consignments for exhibitions at Tooth (e.g., Modigliani 1938;
Monet 1939; Fleche d'Or 1938)-separately listed. Index (partially alphabetical) at front (referencing to folio sheet)
Box 21
Consignments,
1932-1959
Scope and Content Note
Earliest entry is in 1932, beginning with consignment no. 545.
Series III.
London branch accounts,
1913-1937, 1942-1945
Physical Description:
9.0 volumes
Scope and Content Note
Ledgers numbered 13 through 22, listing payments and sales. Usually include stock number, and/or the Tooth exhibition catalogue
number. Each volume includes an alphabetical index in front, which references to ledger folio sheet. Titles are from the spines
of the volumes.
Box 22
Ledger No. 13,
1 July 1913-31 October 1914
Box 23
Ledger No. 14,
1 November 1914-31 October 1918
Box 24
Ledger No. 15,
1 November 1918-31 October 1921
Box 25
Ledger No. 16,
1 November 1921-31 October 1924
Box 26
Ledger No. 17,
1 November 1924-31 October 1927
Box 27
Ledger No. 18,
1 November 1927-31 October 1930
Box 28
Ledger No. 19,
1 November 1930-31 October 1934
Box 29
Ledger No. 20,
1 November 1934-31 October 1937
Box 30
Ledger No. 22,
1 November 1942-31 October 1945
Series IV.
New York branch,
1906-1924
Physical Description:
2.0 volumes
Scope and Content Note
Series includes 1 volume of stock inventory, and 1 book of accounts.
Box 30
Stock Inventories,
December 1906-September 1912
Scope and Content Note
Chronological listing of sales (includes stock no., artist, medium, title, purchaser, sometimes consignor/prior collection
and or cat. rais. no.
Box 30
Accounts, New York House,
6 December 1919-29 April 1924
Scope and Content Note
On cover: New York House. Listing of payments and sales.
