Margaret Mitchell
Atlanta, GA, June 17, 1946
Margaret Mitchell as Rare Book Collector: "I would not want it any later than 1860"
TLS

A typed letter from American novelist Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949) regarding an antique medical book she wished to purchase. 1p on her personal stationery, 7.25" x 10.5", Atlanta, GA, June 17, 1946. Signed at conclusion as "Margaret Mitchell Marsh," she writes to a presumed book dealer- one Mr. Folk- who evidently sent her the wrong title and edition of 'Gunn's Domestic Medicine.' Mitchell notably states that she is not looking for anything published later than 1860, the same period in which 'Gone With the Wind' opens. Exhibits expected letter folds and toning commensurate with age; isolated paperclip indentation present in the upper left. Scattered staining near edges, slightly affecting the last letter of the signature. Else, very good.

Provenance: The Estate of Goodman B. Espy III, Atlanta, GA. Sold at Christie's, New York, NY, "The Herb Bridges 'Gone With the Wind' Collection", sale no. 1144, July 24, 2002.

Reading in part:

"The copy of Gunn's 'New Family Physician or Home Book of Health, Hundredth Edition 1870,' arrived and I thank you for the trouble you took to get it for me. However, this is not the book I ordered nor the book that Mrs. Daniel of Quitman wanted. We wanted Gunn's 'Domestic Medicine or the Poor Man's friend In the Hours of Affliction, Pain and Sickness,' written first in 1832 and enlarged and corrected in 1839. It is a different book from the one you sent me.

When I ordered it from you I enclosed a complete copy of the title page. I do not have another copy. I am sorry that I must return the book you sent me, but it isn't the one I ordered and it is entirely too late an edition. I do not want Gunn's 'Domestic Medicine' in as late an edition as 1870. I would not want it any later than 1860."

Mitchell's mention of "Mrs. Daniel of Quitman" almost certainly refers to the influential newspaper editor and columnist Edna Cain Daniel (1875-1957), who worked as a publisher in Georgia for over 50 years. She was inducted into the Georgia Newspaper Hall of Fame in 1984, alongside Mitchell who was previously inducted in 1978.

'Gunn's Domestic Medicine, or Poor Man's Friend…' is a highly influential 19th-century medical guidebook written by Dr. John C. Gunn, a proponent of the Jacksonian-era Popular Health Movement. It was designed to provide accessible, plain-language health care and home remedies for families who could not afford professional physicians. The movement therefore promoted a rational skepticism toward claims of medical expertise that were based on personal authority, and encouraged ordinary people to understand the pragmatics of health care. Gunn's book also coincided with a resurgence of women as healthcare providers, specifically in the field of midwifery, by offering detailed instructions on delivering babies.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.25" x 10.5"
  • Medium: TLS

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