Margaret Mitchell family papers, 1852-1975, bulk 1936-1949

Summary

Creator:
Mitchell, Belle Stephens, Stephens, John, 1833-1896, and Mitchell, Margaret, 1900-1949
Date:
1852-1975, bulk 1936-1949
Extent:
88 Linear Feet (176 document boxes, 3 flat boxes, 6 oversized boxes, 2 oversized volumes, 29 oversized folders A)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Margaret Mitchell family papers, ms905, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of the papers of Margaret Mitchell and the Mitchell family from 1852-1975. The papers include correspondence, clippings, business and legal documents, research materials, desk calendars (1939-1949), photographs of Mitchell and the Mitchell family, estate documents, and scrapbooks and ephemera. The bulk of the collection (1936-1949) concerns the publication of Gone with the Wind (GWTW), the effect of its publication, and the production of the motion picture by Selznick International Pictures.

Biographical / historical:

"Margaret Mitchell was the author of Gone With the Wind, one of the most popular books of all time. The novel was published in 1936 and sold more than a million copies in the first six months, a phenomenal feat considering it was the Great Depression era. More than 30 million copies of this Civil War-era masterpiece have been sold worldwide in thirty-eight countries. It has been translated into twenty-seven languages. Approximately 250,000 copies are still sold each year. Shortly after the book's publication the movie rights were sold to David O. Selznick for $50,000, the highest amount ever paid for a manuscript up to that time. In 1937 Margaret Mitchell was awarded the Pulitzer Prize...On August 11, 1949, Mitchell and her husband decided to go to a movie, A Canterbury Tale, at the Peachtree Art Theatre. Just as they started to cross Peachtree Street, near 13th Street, a speeding taxi crested the hill. Mitchell stepped back; Marsh stepped forward. The driver applied the brakes, skidded, and hit Mitchell. She was rushed to Grady Hospital but never regained consciousness. During the five days before she died, crowds waited outside for news. U.S. president Harry Truman, Georgia governor Herman Talmadge, and Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield all asked to be kept informed of her condition. Special phone lines were installed at Grady Hospital, and friends manned the lines in four-hour shifts. Mitchell died on August 16, 1949, and was buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta." -

Taken from Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949) in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Arrangement:

Arranged into 8 series, some with several subseries: correspondence; press and publicity; condolences; Gone With the Wind materials; business and legal papers; personal and family; estate documents; and scrapbooks and ephemera.

Access and use restrictions

Terms of access:

Letters written by Margaret Mitchell may not be reproduced without permission from the Mitchell Literary Estate.

Preferred citation:

Margaret Mitchell family papers, ms905, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.