A GROUP OF GONE WITH THE WIND PREMIERE SOUVENIRS
Comprising a set of three rare candid snapshots taken at the premiere featuring Vivien Leigh, Ona Munson, and Evelyn Keyes; a pair of felt armbands, one with 'Official GWTW Auto' and the other with 'GWTW Press' printed in blue felt letters; a rectangular piece of marble with a sticker of Rhett and Scarlett described as a memento from the premiere; a 'Gone with the Wind Atlanta 1939' button; a postcard of the interior of the auditorium in Atlanta; a small card promoting Kay Kyser and his orchestra at the Gone with the Wind festival dance in the Municipal Auditorium on December 15 (for those who didn't have tickets to attend the premiere); a group of 4 wooden nickels featuring the major players in GWTW; two gelatin silver photographs of the premiere theatres; tickets from various showings in 1940 and 1968; and a Gone with the Wind tour pamphlet. With approximately 70 original full-page newspapers pertaining to the Atlanta premiere of the film, many laminated, 1939.
largest 6 x 6 in.
Footnotes:
Provenance
The Collection of Dr. Christopher Sullivan

The December 15, 1939 premiere of Gone with the Wind and the events surrounding it were an extravaganza not seen up to that time. Atlanta's favorite daughter, Margaret Mitchell, had brought worldwide fame to their city and no expense was spared in celebrating her success, courtesy of Mayor William B. Hartsfield, who even declared a three-day holiday so that the public would have time to buy souvenirs and holiday gifts. The frenzied crowds screamed at the sight of Clark Gable with his new wife, Carole Lombard, as well as Vivien Leigh and her love, Laurence Olivier (who stayed discreetly in the background), Olivia de Havilland, David O. Selznick, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, and others. Gable briefly spoke, saying, 'This is Margaret Mitchell's night and the people of Atlanta's night', and indeed, the diminutive and modest novelist was overwhelmed. Nine searchlights highlighted an enormous artwork of Leigh and Gable gracing the front of Loew's Grand Theatre, which also featured a façade of Tara at its entrance. Mitchell later said that watching the film, 'was a tremendous emotional experience for me.'

The photograph shows a member of the press wearing an identical armband to one in this lot at the arrival of stars at Atlanta airport, including Vivien Leigh and Irene Selznick.