Swan E. Micheaux to Charles W. Chesnutt, 19 September 1921
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MICHEAUX FILM CORPORATION1
PRODUCERS & DISTRIBUTORS OF
HIGH CLASS NEGRO PHOTOPLAYS
538 SOUTH DEARBORN STREET
CHICAGO
FOREIGN DISTRIBUTION BY
JOSEPH P. LAMY
NEW YORK LONDON PARIS
OSCAR MICHEAUX, PRES
W. R. COWAN, VICE PRES
S. E. MICHEAUX, SECY. & TREAS
September 19, 1921.
Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt,
1106 Williamson Building,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:-
We owe you an apology for not having settled our note for the 15th of September as promised.2 We have been disappointed in not receiving returns for several shipments in the past month, but expect to be able to settle this note October 1st, and we take the liberty of enclosing our check for $100.58, interest to the date. If you will kindly give us this extension of time, we will assure you the check will be paid on that date.3
Trusting that we have not put you to any inconvenience, we are
Very respectfully yours, MICHEAUX FILM CORPORATION S. E. Micheaux. SM/BA.Correspondent: Swan Emerson Micheaux (1896–1975) was Oscar Micheaux's younger brother and served as secretary, treasurer, and booking manager of the Micheaux Film Corporation from 1920 to 1927. He was suspected of financial mismanagement and forced to resign in 1928.
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. No letters between the Micheaux Film Corporation and Chesnutt about the movie rights for The House Behind the Cedars for the period from July 27, 1921, to September 19, 1921, have been located. Negotiations likely took place in person when Chesnutt visited Chicago in early August (see Chesnutt's letter to Swan E. Micheaux on July 27, 1921). [back]
3. Chesnutt came to an arrangement regarding the movie-rights contract for his novel The House Behind the Cedars with Micheaux Film Corporation, which produced a series of five $100.00 promissory ("cognovit") notes, each due on the 15th of the month (September to January). These were paid with delays and incurred additional interest and penalties: the September note was paid on October 1; the October note around November 13; November's on December 4; and December's not until May 1922. The last note was not paid at all. Chesnutt declined several offers of stocks or bonds in the company in trade for the notes, and passed 25% of each payment on to Houghton Mifflin Company. [back]
