TLS signed “Margaret Mitchell Marsh,” two pages, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, August 9, 1940. Letter to psychiatrist Dr. C. E. Mayos. In part: “You must know by now how much I enjoy your letters, and I must confess that I have always felt flattered that a psychiatrist complimented me on the ‘behavior patterns’ of my characters, so thank you for your last letter. I believe I wrote you many months ago that I intended to undergo an operation which I had needed for some time but had postponed from month to month waiting for the premiere showing of ‘Gone With the Wind’ here in Atlanta. I realized that the premiere would be the most exciting occasion this city had known since that day in the 1880’s when Jefferson Davis, then an old man, came here to unveil the Ben Hill statue. I didn’t intend to miss that premiere, sick or well!…It is a wonderful feeling to be back in circulation after four years at a desk…My husband and I hope that the film of ‘Gone With the Wind’ will return to Atlanta at least once more before it is cut for the smaller theatres at cheaper prices. It is such a long picture that it takes several views to really get it all. I am just now beginning to get a trickle of clippings about the film from England and its colonial possessions. (On account of the war and the difficulties of getting money out of many foreign countries, the picture is showing only in British possessions.) It may interest you to know that in Australia, South Africa and India, Hattie McDaniel’s portrayal of Mammy is unanimously acclaimed. In some countries they may or may not like Clark Gable or Vivien Leigh, but they all shout for Hattie McDaniel. In fact, in Calcutta, where Vivien Leigh spent her childhood, the reviewers praised Mammy above Scarlett.” In fine condition, with a rusty paperclip mark and tack hole to upper left corner. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. The Atlanta premiere of Gone With the Wind was an incredible event—one million people descended upon the city, which hosted three days of various festivities in anticipation of the premiere. Mitchell was correct in her belief that it would be the biggest event since Jefferson Davis’s unveiling of a statue; Jimmy Carter would later call it the biggest event to happen in the South in his lifetime. With the discussion of the premiere and the film’s main actors, this is one of the most remarkable Mitchell letters we have encountered. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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