Peter Arno and Whitney Darrow, Jr.: "A Delightful Addition to Any Child's Bookshelf"?

eBay seller kna_4183 is new to the auction platform, having just joined in November, so perhaps I should go easy on him—but I won't. A current eBay listing offers three cartoon books by New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno, one by Whitney Darrow, Jr., Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit (1907) by Joel Chandler Harris, and Colette and the Princess (1965) by Louis Slobodkin. The group is listed under the title "Joel Chandler Harris & Peter Arno • Illustrated Children's Hardcover Book Lot." To which I would only ask, "Are you sure these are really all children's books?"

This is an unconventional grouping, to be sure. There are fifty-eight years and two world wars between the two actual children's books in the lot, those of Harris and Slobodkin. In between are four books by New Yorker cartoonists that collect some of the wittiest and most sophisticated cartoons of their era. These books are Peter Arno's Parade (1929), his Hullabaloo (1930), and his Sizzling Platter (1949), as well as Whitney Darrow, Jr.'s, "You're Sitting on My Eyelashes" (1943). They're not in any way harmful to children, but they were all marketed to adults. The dust jacket to Peter Arno's Sizzling Platter with its delectable double entendre makes that pretty plain.

Here's how the eBay seller describes the listing: "This product is a lot of illustrated children's hardcover books featuring stories by Joel Chandler Harris, Peter Arno, and others. The books are in English and are original editions, with illustrations done by Louis Slobodkin. The stories fall under the genres of fairy tales and fantasy, making them perfect for young readers to enjoy. This collection would be a delightful addition to any child's bookshelf, offering a mix of classic tales and whimsical illustrations to spark imagination and creativity." They are all treated as if they had exactly the same sort of fairy story content and were all illustrated by Slobodkin. But the Harris book has folk tales, not fairy tales, and the Arno and Darrow books have single panel cartoons, not stories. Did the seller ever look inside them?

Peter Arno, Whitney Darrow, Jr., Joel Chandler Harris, and Louis Slobodkin
eBay listing ended March 14, 2026

https://www.ebay.com/itm/147190625647?

Peter Arno, Whitney Darrow, Jr., Joel Chandler Harris, and Louis Slobodkin
eBay item description

Since February 14, this lot has been relisted on eBay every Saturday at the same price, $90.

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Peter Arno Signs Mary Brown Warburton's Copy of Hullabaloo

A photo that was originally part of the New York Daily News Archive shows New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno at the tony Atlantic Beach Club on Long Island. He is autographing a copy of "his latest opus" for socialite Mary Brown Warburton, granddaughter of John Wanamaker, the store merchant who, among other things, invented the price tag. She would be about 35 here and he 26. Getty Images dates this photograph to September 11, 1930 and that means the book he's signing is almost certainly Hullabaloo (1930).

A print is offered on eBay:

Peter Arno
eBay listing accessed June 25, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/326125233751?_skw=Peter+Arno+atlantic&itmmeta=01JYJCRBC82A3V4PPTXAPXCJS7&hash=item4bee942657:g:ugEAAOSw26tmQdwO&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1cy1sOIcqFv1U2Fe4YdBm2LjEX%2BpfG%2BQMTKBHmncEdFlwB0FuoPCJqGfWbPDnlWA3ep7pusHdfpmgKO4QxTvxyVe

0%2FyQaUI3eFN%2FEI%2Bf%2BIkzqxCewu62SskthGz3AtBZaOnvek6INx5Xhd4K541xPDeOQlJuWTBN93%2FC%2FRwdT75J0wE%2FKJsbNMVFNYkvyjFGKkQ9Fb2zXB4TySpATUZK3Cr%2BwQe6Y1RqMkJ6uGknwSRViRo2yISIkoB%2BdIOgjcshsnGSYKGbo25xSyttNd1EebScFjh24LvnEDRDSHgR6NQOQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMorbhzPRl

Note:  See also my post about Peter Arno's visit to the yacht of John Wanamaker, Jr., Mary's uncle and another "notable," here. Arno apparently enjoyed good relations with this family listed in the Social Register.

Mary Brown Warburton's rather unsparing obituary in the Times may be found here. She was "about 42 years old" according to the 1937 notice.

Arno's Hullabaloo remains a very entertaining cartoon collection ninety-five years after publication. If you don't have one, get yourself a copy. See if it has a price tag.

https://newyorkerstateofmind.com/tag/peter-arnos-hullabaloo/

Copies of Arno books with interesting inscriptions or—better still—drawings are hard to come by but easy to share right here. You provide me with the images and I show them to the world through the miracle of blogging. It's what I do. 

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Hugh Hefner's Copy of Peter Arno's Hullabaloo

Hugh Hefner was only four years old when Peter Arno's Hullabaloo was published in 1930. Hefner, a cartoonist himself, eventually became a fan of Arno's and apparently hoped to recruit him as a Playboy cartoonist. Hefner's copy of the book lacks a dust jacket and may very well have been acquired second-hand. It is signed by Hefner with a sketch of a cartoon head which we are told is his "caricature self portrait." The $920 eBay price tag may prove palatable to admirers of Hefner and his magazine, especially if mitigated with the Make Offer option. It is less likely to appeal to fans of Peter Arno.

Peter Arno
eBay listing retrieved June 20, 2019

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Peter-Arnos-HULLABALOO-1930/202634685538?hash=item2f2df7ec62:g:V~kAAOSw91pccF1I&frcectupt=true

Peter Arno
eBay Item Description

N-Gram:  Peter Arno and Hugh Hefner

April 12, 2026 Update:  The new owner of this book writes about it here.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Peter Arno

Signed Books with Sketches

Attempted Bloggery's Dreamlike Index

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Peter Arno's Hullabaloo Signed Limited Edition

On eBay last week, a limited edition copy of Peter Arno's Hullabaloo (1930) signed by the artist changed hands. Arno signed it in his characteristic blue pen not on the limitation page but beneath a full color stage cartoon. The accepted Best Offer price was $75. Here then is copy 127 of 145.

Limitation page to Peter Arno's Hullabaloo (1930)

Peter Arno's signature

eBay Listing Ended May 10, 2016

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hullabaloo-Peter-Arno-1930-signed-limited-edition-/272236920298?hash=item3f6295bdea%3Ag%3AOOMAAOSwSclXL1N~&nma=true&si=MY%252BVlM1DDf4MNMNGGnCdh3m%252FHQQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

eBay Item Description

Best Offer ($75) Accepted

Note:  Thanks to cartoonist Paul Merklein for revealing the Best Offer price at which he bought this book.

What else do we have in the archives? More Peter Arno? Check. Signed books? Check. Signed books with original drawings? Not our topic today, but check!

Why all this talk about Peter Arno? The catalyst is the recent publication of Peter Arno: The Mad, Mad World of The New Yorker's Greatest Cartoonist by Michael Maslin. The book review

in the Christian Science Monitor calls the book "dazzling." Dazzling! An excerpt entitled The Peter Arno Cartoons That Helped Rescue The New Yorker was published on May 5 in the New Yorker's online edition and it's all about the Whoops Sisters. Remember them, old timer? Of course you don't.

These links should be your constant study:

Peter Arno posts on Ink Spill. This blog was mentioned there Sunday. Am I blushing?

Peter Arno in Chris Wheeler's Cartoon(ist) Gallery. There are lots of books here. Does he have the signed limited edition of Hullabaloo? Two copies.

Peter Arno in the April 26 Record. That's a New Jersey newspaper.

Peter Arno in April's Vanity Fair. 

Peter Arno in the March 29 Wall Street Journal.

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