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Lot 454
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Margaret Mitchell TLS Declining Using AL Confederate's Letters In New Novel After GWTW: "… my problem has been, since 1936, trying to find one minute in which to write"
Margaret Mitchell TLS Declining Using AL Confederate's Letters In New Novel After GWTW: "… my problem has been, since 1936, trying to find one minute in which to write"
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Description:

Margaret Mitchell
Atlanta, GA, June 2, 1948
Margaret Mitchell TLS Declining Using AL Confederate's Letters In New Novel After GWTW: "… my problem has been, since 1936, trying to find one minute in which to write"
TLS

A 3pp typed letter signed by Margaret Mitchell (1900-1948), author of the best-selling Civil War-era novel "Gone With The Wind" (1936), as: "Margaret Mitchell Marsh" above her name in print as "Margaret Mitchell Marsh" and "(Mrs. John R. Marsh)." June 2, 1948, only 14 months before Mitchell was fatally struck by a motorist in August 1949. Atlanta, Georgia. Typed on watermarked stationery with "Margaret Mitchell" letterhead. One manuscript edit made to the word "side" on page 2. Expected wear including toning, isolated light stains, flattened transmittal folds, and a few extra wrinkles. 7.25" x 10.5." Accompanied by its original transmittal envelope listing Mitchell's last address, 1268 Piedmont Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, where she and her husband lived between 1939-1949. Bearing a cancelled 3-cent George Washington stamp and postmarked. Scattered stains and closed tears related to letter-opening verso.

Mitchell wrote this friendly and candid letter to Verbena, Alabama resident Arah P. Stanley (1902-1987), the great-granddaughter of a Confederate cavalry private named John Weaver Cotton of Coosa County, Alabama. Stanley had recently discovered a cache of her ancestor's Civil War correspondence and wrote to Mitchell inquiring if she was interested in using the archive "as [a] background for fiction." Mitchell politely declined, saying she didn't lack inspiration, just time; since 1936, when "Gone With The Wind" was published, she hadn't had much time for writing.

Mitchell continued by recommending various publishers to Mrs. Stanley, including her own publisher The Macmillan Company, who had published "Gone With the Wind." In the letter, Mitchell showed an impressive knowledge of late-19th C.-mid-20th C. American historiography, mentioning Confederate diarists and biographers like Henry Kyd Douglas, Bell Irvin Wiley, and Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman. Mitchell also takes the time to suggest how Mrs. Stanley should present her great-grandfather's letters to publishing house candidates ("clear typewritten copies, double spaced and on only one side of the paper… Have your material typed out, and have photostats made of a few of the best letters just to prove their authenticity…") Overall, Mitchell's letter demonstrated her familiarity with the time-consuming but rewarding process of researching, writing/editing, and publishing historical material.

Mitchell wrote to Mrs. Stanley in part:

"It was generous indeed of you to think of me in connection with your recently unearthed letters of your great-grandfather. I can't help feeling a far-off and vicarious thrill of discovery, too. The number of the letters and the many places from which they were written and the replies from the family at home make them sound like a very valuable collection.

I thank you for asking whether or not I would be interested in them as background for fiction. No, I would not, frankly, because my problem is something different. I have never lacked background or characters or stories; my problem has been, since 1936, trying to find one minute in which to write, and not being able to find that minute.

You requested, if I was not interested in the letters, that I give you some advice on the 'best procedure in publishing them.' Of course there are my publishers, The Macmillan Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, New York 11, New York, Mr. H.S. Latham, Editor…

The University of North Carolina Press (popularly known as Chapel Hill), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, publishes a number of Southern books. They had success with a very fine Confederate diary, 'I Rode With Stonewall,' by Henry Kyd Douglas of General Jackson's staff… Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, has brought out so many books on Confederate subjects that they are commonly accused in the writing profession of being 'subsidized by the Confederate Government'! One of the best books they brought out was the 'Life of Johnny Reb,' by Bell Irvin Wiley, a remarkably valuable book which was written from thousands of Confederate letters. I think Mr. Wiley is now head of the history department of the University of Louisiana… He is one of the nicest 'Confederates' I have ever met and if you wrote him perhaps he could make some suggestions of help.

You write that the University of Alabama Press has offered to publish the letters. I am not certain as to the reason why you hesitate about giving permission to them to publish the material… many of the large publishing firms shy away from such books as your letters would make, as they fear the field of readers might be very limited. And therein lies the great value of university presses. They save from oblivion so much valuable material about our past…

I hesitate to mention this man, because I know everyone in the world who is interested in Confederate matters eventually arrives at his doorstep… That is Doctor Douglas Southall Freeman, of Richmond, Virginia, author of 'R.E. Lee,' 'Lee's Lieutenants' et cetera, and the last word on Confederate matters…"

Arah Stanley did publish her ancestor's letters a few years later, choosing as her publisher the University of Alabama imprint. Lucille Griffith, Associate Professor of History at Alabama College, edited the collection called "Yours Till Death: Civil War Letters of John W. Cotton" (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama, 1951). The book includes content from over 150 letters penned by John W. Cotton (1831-1866) to his wife, Mariah Hindsman Cotton (1833-1880). A "yeoman farmer" in eastern Alabama, Cotton grew staple food crops and raised livestock on a 285-acre farm with the help of one hired enslaved person. He enlisted in the Confederate cavalry in April 1862, eventually serving in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. During the Civil War, Cotton's wife was at home raising many young children while also running the farm. Cotton was mustered out of the Confederate Army in May 1865 but died shortly afterwards of measles in 1866, while only in his mid-30s.

Mitchell's saga "Gone With The Wind" was exhaustively researched for historical accuracy. In the letter to Mrs. Stanley, Mitchell wrote, "I have never lacked background or characters or stories." Most of Mitchell's inspiration for "Gone With The Wind" came from childhood reminiscences of oral histories which she had heard about the Civil War and Reconstruction. Mitchell's maternal grandmother, Annie Fitzgerald Stephens, recounted many stories at length, as did other relatives and neighbors, including actual Confederate war veterans. Mitchell, above all, would have recognized the great value of a primary source like Mrs. Stanley's great-grandfather's letters.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.25" x 10.5"
  • Medium: TLS

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