
802. Margaret Mitchell original signed copyright contract for the film production of Gone With The Wind. (MGM, 1939) On July 30, 1936, two months after her wildly popular novel was published, Margaret Mitchell signed a contract to sell the movie rights to Gone With the Wind. The purchaser was fabled producer David O. Selznick. During Mitchell's life, she signed very few Gone With the Wind–related agreements. The exceptional agreement presented here is one of only two or three extant Margaret Mitchell signed Gone With the Wind documents in private hands. The exceedingly rare, three-page document is an amendment to the historic July 30, 1936 Selznick contract and refers to that agreement on page one. It deals with Mitchell¹s continuing obligations concerning the copyright status of her book relevant to the fact that Selznick International granted permission to The Macmillan Company to include photo stills from the film in a "motion picture edition" of her novel. Dated February 14, 1940, the agreement is signed by Mitchell and representatives from Selznick International and Loew's. There are also two changes accomplished in ink and initialed by the three signers. In addition to being an extension of the landmark deal granting the film rights to Selznick, as well as one of the very few GWTW contracts that Mitchell ever signed, this rare document also reflects the growing participation of MGM/Loew's in the Gone With the Wind story. It is also the only known GWTW contract with both Mitchell and Loew's signatures. and finally, one can see from the date of signing that it is just two weeks before Academy Award night when Gone With the Wind would capture ten awards including Best Picture. A truly historic Margaret Mitchell/Gone With the Wind signed document, worthy of inclusion in the finest collections of Hollywood history. $4000 - $6000
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HOLLYWOOD AUCTION 32
11:00 AM PT - Aug 1st, 2008
offered by
Profiles in History
26901 Agoura Road
Calabasas, CA 91301
Calabasas, CA 91301



