Original copy of the final shooting script of Gone with the Wind dated January 24, 1939, handsomely custom-bound in red morocco gilt-stamped “Gone with the Wind, Screen Play, [To] John Hertz,” 8.75 x 11, 256 pages, signed and inscribed in fountain pen on a front blank, “For John Hertz, the uncritical partner always! That he may be pleased with the result is the sincere wish of David O. Selznick.” The script has been supplemented with several mounted original production photos depicting Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara together and with others, as well as a dramatic view of Atlanta in flames. Hertz (1879–1961), who made a fortune as the founder of Yellow Cab, was among the backers who financed Selznick International, the production company Selznick formed after leaving MGM in 1935. Hertz later founded the company that bore his name and became synonymous with the rental-car business. Housed in a custom cloth clamshell box. Expert restorations to original leather, and slight cracking to hinges (still firmly attached), otherwise fine, clean, attractive condition. Selznick is known to have inscribed only a handful of these deluxe presentation scripts to his closest and most important associates. Given the importance of Hertz not only to the film but to the very direction of Selznick’s career, the association between the two men must be regarded as one of highest significance. A spectacular treasure from this most fabled of Hollywood classics! R&R COA.
