Margaret Mitchell

TLS signed "Margaret Mitchell Marsh," one page, 7 x 11, personal letterhead, January 22, 1937. Letter to "Miss Keim," in full: "Thank you so much for your letter about 'Gone with the Wind.' Of course I was so very pleased when you wrote me that the characters seemed real to you and that you suffered with them. An author can get no higher compliment than this and I appreciate it. No, I do not know what actors will be cast in the film of 'Gone with the Wind.' I have no connection with the picture and am as much in the dark as anyone else." In fine condition.

Only a month after Mitchell published her bestseller in 1936, David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures purchased the film rights for $50,000. Casting took two years and filming finally began on January 26, 1939, with Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh as the film's two main characters, Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara.

Mitchell, for her part, did not want an active role in the production of the film, but did enjoy receiving updates from the set. The film premiered on December 15, 1939, in Atlanta, Georgia, with local crowds showing Mitchell and her film overwhelming amounts of support. In addition to a three-day parade, the Georgia governor declared December 15th a state holiday.