'Tara' Centerpiece From GONE WITH THE WIND Sells at Auction

Profiles in History announces the grand entrance from Tara, The O'Hara Plantation in Gone With The Wind sold for $120,000.

The collection of facade elements from Tara, sold for $42,000.

The auction took place on June 27th in Los Angeles.

Tara was constructed at Selznick International Studios' "Forty Acres" production lot in Culver City, California. Following the conclusion of filming, the Tara set remained standing for 20 years until Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Productions, then owner of the lot, had it dismantled in the spring of 1959. Tara was removed to be reconstructed on 300 acres of forested land in Northern Georgia. However this vision never came to fruition due to complications arising from copyright protections by the Margaret Mitchell family. Margaret Mitchell was the author of the novel the film is based on.

The Tara facade remained in a storage barn in Northern Georgia until 1979 when the late Mrs. Betty Talmadge, wife of U.S. Senator and Governor of Georgia, Herman Talmadge, rescued it with the intent of restoring it to its former glory. In 1989, the Atlanta History Center mounted a major exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the film's release. For this event, Mrs. Talmadge had the original grand entrance of Tara restored and it became the centerpiece of the exhibit. In September 1990, Mrs. Talmadge had it re-erected at her Lovejoy Plantation for a private event for Ted Turner and Jane Fonda. In 1998 the doorway was relocated and placed on exhibit at the Margaret Mitchell House Museum where it currently resides.

The second lot, pictured right, a massive collection of "Tara" facade elements includes shutters and window frame elements from the front of the house as well as the left wing, including the prominent tall windows/shutters mounted to the right of the front door where Scarlett is first seen at Tara conversing with the Tarleton Twins. Also included is a pair of large interior solid shutters seen in the famous sequence when Scarlett pulls down the drapery to make her iconic dress with Mammy, along with much, much more.

Founded in 1985 by Joseph Maddalena, Profiles in History is the world's largest auctioneer & dealer of original Hollywood Memorabilia, historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts. Born into a family of antiques dealers in Rhode Island, Joseph "Joe" Maddalena learned early on how to turn his passion of collecting historical autographs into a career. Upon graduation from Pepperdine, Joe pursued his passion to become a full-time dealer of historical documents, and opened his first office in 1985. Profiles in History has held some of the most prestigious and successful auctions of Hollywood memorabilia and own virtually every Guinness Book record for prices of original screen-used memorabilia. Highlights from their previous auctions include the "Cowardly Lion" costume from The Wizard of Oz for $805,000; Steve McQueen's "Michael Delaney" racing suit from Le Mans for $960,000; From the history-making Debbie Reynolds Auction in June 2011, Profiles in History sold the Marilyn Monroe "Subway" Dress from The Seven Year Itch for $5.52M and the Audrey Hepburn Ascot Dress from My Fair Lady for $4.44M. In February 2012, Profiles in History arranged the sale of a pair of Judy Garland screen-used Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In June 2017, at his Hollywood Auction 89, Joe sold the Gary Cannavo collection of Battlestar Galactica spaceships for 1.8 million dollars, the Saturday Night Fever dance floor for 1.2 million and an R2D2 for 2.76 million. In May 2018, Joe sold the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous for 2.4 million. In addition, Joe Maddalena was the star of Hollywood Treasure, which aired on Syfy. Hollywood Treasure took viewers into the fascinating world of showbiz and Pop culture memorabilia.

For more information visit www.profilesinhistory.com

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