William B. Pratt to Charles W. Chesnutt, 30 July 1921
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[1]
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
SYNDICATE BUREAU
W. B. PRATT MANAGER
4 PARK STREET BOSTON
FICTION
BIOGRAPHY
NATURE SERIES
CHILDREN'S STORIES
JUVENILE VERSE
SPECIAL ARTICLES
July 30, 1921
Dear Mr. Chestnutt:
I can see no objection to your arranging with Mr. Micheaux1 for both the motion picture rights of "THE HOUSE BEHIND THE CEDARS"2 and the serial rights for one newspaper at $700.3 This is $200 better than the previous figure, and I hope you will be able to close with him at this price when you are in Chicago. If you sell the serial rights for this book and your others to the Chicago Defender, we will leave you a free hand. The Defender is a weekly with a circulation of 16,000. Mr. Robert S. Abbott is the editor.4 The price for newspaper serial rights in Chicago varies according to the special appeal of the novel, and the circulation of the paper. For the Defender I should think that $200 would be a reasonable price for the Chicago rights. You may, however, find that their treasury is not any too full, and that they would not be able to pay this much. In selling newspaper serials it is largely a matter of dickering, and you can perhaps ascertain in an interview with Mr. Abbott his maximum figure. There is one question which comes up, and that is whether the paper that Mr. Micheaux has in mind for the serial rights of this story would conflict with the Defender. The paper will naturally insist upon having exclusive rights of the story for that city. Any arrangement, however, that you will make will be satisfactory to us, and as you are doing the bulk of the work in placing
[2]
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
SYNDICATE BUREAU
W. B. PRATT MANAGER
4 PARK STREET BOSTON
FICTION
BIOGRAPHY
NATURE SERIES
CHILDREN'S STORIES
JUVENILE VERSE
SPECIAL ARTICLES
Charles W. Chesnutt, Esq. - 2 - July 30, 1921
these stories, I think a fair arrangement would be the same as that we suggested for the Micheaux contract—that is; 25% to us, and the balance to you.
If there is anything further we can do to help you, please let us know.
Sincerely yours, W. B. Pratt Charles W. Chestnutt, Esq. c/o Messrs. Chestnutt & Moore 1106 Williamson Building Cleveland, Ohio WBP:HCorrespondent: William Brace Pratt (1886–1961) was a White Bostonian who graduated from Yale in 1906. He worked for Houghton Mifflin's Special Sales department from 1907 to 1929; as the manager of the syndicate bureau, he frequently correspondended with Chesnutt about the film rights to his works in the 1920s.
1. 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]
2. The House Behind the Cedars (Houghton Mifflin, 1900) was Chesnutt's first published novel. House evolved over more than a decade from a short story, "Rena Walden," first drafted in the late 1880s. It was the only novel by Chesnutt to be serialized, once in 1900-1901 in the monthly Self Culture and again in 1921-1922 in the Black weekly Chicago Defender. House was also his only novel to be adapted to film (1924 and 1932). [back]
3. While possibly prompted by discussions about a combined serialization and movie-rights contract involving Micheaux Film Corporation and the Chicago Defender in the summer of 1921, Chesnutt ultimately decided on a separate contract with the Defender for the serialization rights of The House Behind the Cedars for $125.00, of which $31.25 (25%) went to Houghton Mifflin. The novel was serialized in 19 weekly parts from October 29, 1921, to March 4, 1922 (part 1 on pages 1 and 8; parts 2–11 on page 8 only; and parts 12–19 on page 2 of the weekly paper's new "Feature Section"). [back]
4. The Chicago Defender, a Black weekly newspaper, was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott (1870–1940), who was its publisher and editor until his death. From early on, the paper had an anti-segregation, anti-lynching platform, encouraged Blacks to move North, and reached a broad national audience. Chesnutt's The House Behind the Cedars was serialized in the paper in 1921–1922. [back]
