Description:

Mitchell, Margaret (1900-1949) Margaret Mitchell praises the film adaption of her landmark novel: "I hope to be able to see it again myself ... while I had nothing to do with the production, I could not only help feeling pleased that people outside of the South enjoyed it too." Additionally, she hopes that now that "'Gone With the Wind' has been released, my life will quiet down ..."

Typed Letter Signed, "Margaret Mitchell Marsh," 2 pages, 7.25" x 11" on her personal stationery, Atlanta, Georgia, February 19, 1940, to Robert Saltmarsh, a New Bedford, Massachusetts bookseller concerning the film adaptation of her 1936 novel, Gone With the Wind. Horizontal creases, a few toned spots, minor tape residue on verso of second page, else fine.

Mitchell writes in full: "There was no need for you to recall yourself and your 1936 letter to me; I remember it with too much pleasure to forget it. I have a good memory for handwriting and when I saw the address on your recent letter and the New Bedford postmark, I said to my husband, 'I know this is a letter from Mr. Saltmarsh.' (You see, my married name is Marsh and the association of names helped yours to sick in my mind.) And, sure enough, it was from you. Thank you so much for writing me again about the book and the picture, and thank you, too, for the hospitable invitation to visit which you sent us. As to the invitation--it sounds most enticing but I do not know when we can accept it. I am just out of the hospital for abdominal adhesions and, while I have done extraordinarily well, my doctor wishes me to take things easily for a very long time--not so much because of the operation but because the last three and a half years have been strenuous ones and he thinks I need rest and quiet at home. Life has been so rushed and packed in the last few years that I have managed only two trips North. Last June I was in Northampton for a day to receive an honorary Master of Arts degree, which made me very proud and happy. I wanted so much to spend a month in New England, but the pressure of business matters at home made me return immediately. I hope, now that the moving picture of 'Gone With the Wind' has been released, my life will quiet down and during the next year I will be able to enjoy the normal things of life, such as traveling about in a leisurely manner. Atlanta had a three-day celebration of the premiere of 'Gone With the Wind.' Everyone seemed to enjoy it very much and many people have gone to see the picture three or four times. It is finishing its tenth week and closing in a few days. I hope to be able to see it again myself. I have read some of the New England papers about the picture and, while I had nothing to do with the production, I could not only help feeling pleased that people outside of the South enjoyed it too. I will never forget your pre-publication kindness about my book and it was a pleasure to hear from you again. I hope some day that I will be in New England and will meet you and Mrs. Saltmarsh."

MGM chose Atlanta as the site of the film's official release and the proud city put on three days of festivities. Georgia Governor Eurity D. Rivers declared December 15, 1939 (the film's release date) an official state holiday. Sadly, due to the prevailing Jim Crow laws, the black cast members, including Hattie McDaniel (who won an Oscar for her role as "Mammy"), were barred from attending. When Clark Gable learned this, he threatened to boycott the Atlanta premiere, but was persuaded by McDaniel to attend the gala. When the film premiered in Los Angeles, director David O. Selznick insisted McDaniel be featured prominently in the program. (In Atlanta, and throughout the South, the black cast members didn't even appear in promotional material for the film).

Mitchell's life did quiet down somewhat after the initial rush of publicity for the film faded, but she remained a celebrity for the remainder of her life. During the Second World War, she leveraged that celebrity to raise funds for the Red Cross and spearheaded fundraising drives for two U.S. Navy warships: the U.S.S. Atlanta (CL-51), an anti-aircraft ship that saw action at Midway. When that ship was sunk at Guadalcanal in November 1942, Mitchell raised funds for a replacement: The U.S.S. Atlanta (CL-104), which she christened in Camden, New Jersey in 1944.

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