 
PRESS RELEASE
Event: Slotin Folk Art Auction
Date: February 11, 2006 - 10am
Location: Buford, Georgia Historic Buford Hall
112 Shadburn Ave. Buford, GA 30518
Contact: Steve Slotin - 404 403-4244
Click here to view photos from the Mitchell Estate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Slotin Auction
February 11, 2006 – 10am
The Margaret Mitchell Estate Sale
This sale featured hundreds of historically significant items from The Estate of Margaret Mitchell, on display for many years at the Atlanta Museum.
On February 11, 2006, the Estate of Margaret Mitchell, formally on display at the Atlanta Museum hit the auction block in Buford, Georgia at Slotin Auction. This Estate was sold as one lot and included hundreds of personal items owned by the famed author of Gone With The Wind. Most notably, this lot included several furniture items from Mitchell's home on Peachtree Street including her ottoman made famous by a 1947 press photo (included in lot) of Mitchell sitting on this stool for a photo shoot on the occasion of the translation of her novel. Also included were Mitchell’s favorite chair and a photo of her sitting in this chair reading a copy of Gone With the Wind. Mitchell’s sofa joins this lot with an Atlanta Journal Article about the Margaret Mitchell Estate on display at the Atlanta Museum and the Museum’s director, John Elliott, photographed sitting on this couch. Other furniture items include a matching wooden headboard and footboard complete with gorgeous inlayed wooden flowers and mother of pearl drops, and a wonderful wooden wardrobe with beveled glass mirror. A framed grouping of ticket stubs (and one complete ticket) to the party following the world premier of the movie is sure to capture collectors’ attention as well as an original, fully-illustrated color movie program which sold in theatres around the world. This particular movie program bears the signature of Anna Rutherford, the actress that played the part of Careen O’Hara (Scarlett’s sister). 10 photographs from Mitchell’s private collection are part of this lot including photos of Mitchell’s husband, a photo of Vivian Leigh in full costume and make up for a scene in the movie, and several snap shots of Mitchell involved in various activities including the preparation of food packages for war-ravaged Europe during the early part of WWII. Also included of note is a whole grouping of items that Mitchell once used in her volunteer work for the Red Cross such as jackets and helmets. And lastly this lot includes some interesting oddities once belonging to the world’s most famous author such as her trunks with clothing, an interesting camping set, 90 items from her kitchen (glasses, plates, cooking utensils, and a boy scout axe), other small pieces of furniture, her space heater, lamp, her favorite framed print and books from her private library.
This is truly a remarkable piece of Southern and Literary History and for the past 60 years an integral part of Atlanta History. This large and important collection was formed when another major Atlanta icon, John Elliott, who founded the oldest museum in Atlanta, The Atlanta Museum, went to an Estate auction of Mitchell’s property after her death (Click here for information on the Atlanta Museum.). The items he purchased from the sale were a major addition to this local museum and were prominently on display at the museum until it’s closing a few years ago. Slotin Auction understands the importance of these items and the rarity of finding such a large collection of Mitchell’s items intact and decided to keep this historically significant grouping together and selling it as one lot.
In addition to being a live auction, Slotin Auction also had 10 live phone lines, executed thousands of absentee bids and hosted this auction live on Ebay. More than 80,000 people visited the live auction site on Ebay, and the Margaret Mitchell Estate was the number one visited lot in this auction by a landslide. Ultimately, this lot sold to a buyer over the phone to an anonymous bidder who chased the price up to $138,000 (including a 15% buyer's premium). After this sale, the opportunity to own an incredible piece of Southern and Literary History may not come around very often. The many anxious bidders who participated didn't want the chance to buy such an impressive collection of items from Margaret Mitchell’s home on Peachtree St. to be Gone With the Wind.
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