Charles W. Chesnutt to Micheaux Book & Film Company, 2 August 1920
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August 2, 1920.
Micheaux Book & Film Company,1
Suite 807-808, 538 s. Dearborn St.,
Chicago, Illinois.
ATTENTION MR. GEORGE C. ANDERSON,
ASST. MANAGER.
Dear Sirs;
Replying to your letter of July 27, 1920 beg to say that I shall be glad to talk to Mr. Micheaux2 with reference to filming some of my stories.3
I am expecting to be away on my vacation for the greater part of the month of August, but I will not be far from Cleveland and if Mr. Micheaux can let me know what day he will pass through here, I will arrange to be at my office to meet him.4 Or, if equally convenient for him, he could stop over on his way back to Chicago a little later, which would be entirely satisfactory to me.
Yours very truly,Correspondent: George C. Anderson worked as a regional agent and assistant manager for the Micheaux Film Corporation out of their Chicago office, and was the initial contact for Chesnutt's involvement with the Micheaux brothers.
1. The Micheaux Film Corporation began in 1919 as the Micheaux Book and Film Company. Founded by Black novelist, film director, and film producer Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951), it was based in Chicago, with offices in New York City and Roanoke, Virginia, and became the most successful Black-owned film company of the 20th century. In the 1920s and '30s, Micheaux produced at least three dozen films featuring Black actors and themes he believed to be of particular interest to Black audiences, three of them based loosely on Chesnutt's work. In 1928, the company voluntarily filed for bankruptcy, reorganized, and survived until 1940. Most of the films are lost. [back]
2. Oscar Micheaux (1884–1951) was a Black American writer and film director known for his films about race and racism. Originally from Illinois, he began his career as a novelist and later founded the Micheaux Film and Book Company (ultimately renamed Micheaux Film Corporation) in 1919. He first adapted his early novel The Homesteader to film, and directed and produced over three dozen films in the 1920s and 30s, typically writing the scripts as well as overseeing the low-budget production and distribution of the films. Several of his films were loosely based on the works of Black authors, including Chesnutt. After the demise of his company in 1940, Micheaux founded a publishing business and wrote several more novels. [back]
3. Between January and September 1921, Oscar Micheaux negotiated with Chesnutt to pay $500 in five installments for the film rights to Chesnutt's novel The House Behind the Cedars. This was a low sum for movie rights to a novel, but Chesnutt likely took into account that Black-produced films had low budgets. Ultimately, 25% (rather than the originally suggested 33%) of the money received went to Chesnutt's publisher, Houghton Mifflin Company. Several of the payments were delayed, and Chesnutt never received the final installment. Micheaux's film adaptation was released in December 1924. [back]
4. Since 1903, the Chesnutts had owned a plot of land near Chesterland in Geauga County, Ohio, about 20 miles east of Cleveland. With a group of friends, they had formed the Chester Cliffs Club or Company as a corporation to jointly purchase 11 acres of land on which to build summer cottages. Until about 1921, Chesnutt's family typically spent their summers at Chester Cliffs, before beginning to vacation in Idlewild, Michigan. [back]
