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ROUILLAC

83 - André Michelin (1853–1931), engineer and industrialist
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Estimate €200 - €400
Sale commission
Description
André Michelin (1853–1931), engineer and industrialist Personal letterhead, Paris, 22 June 1922, André Michelin, addressed to René Benjamin; true to his reputation as a champion of the motor car, André Michelin also acted as a patron and protector of heritage, using his network and logistical resources to improve the management of tourist sites, such as Châalis Abbey (Oise) Sir, The author of *La Farce de la Sorbonne*, *Antoine déchaîné* and *Les Plaisirs du Hasard* would delight in the matter of Châalis. You may be familiar with this marvellous estate and its museum, bequeathed by Madame André to the Institute ‘so that it might be a place of rest and beauty for all French people’. The history of Châalis, and the way it is managed by the Institute and its Administrative Commission, chaired by Mr Frédéric Masson, offer an inexhaustible source of material for a sharp-witted mind that has lost all respect for idols. I have asked the T.C.F. [Touring Club de France] to take charge of the matter. As its President, Mr Defert, was unfamiliar with Châalis, I invited him to lunch on Sunday 25 June at the site itself, along with a few men of letters and journalists interested in the matter. If you would do me the honour of joining us, you will be able to gather information at your leisure. A car would collect you in Paris at around 10 o’clock and bring you back in the afternoon. If you would be so kind as to accept my invitation, I would be grateful if you could telephone me or reply by return, so that I may make the necessary arrangements... L.S., on ‘Michelin & Cie’ letterhead, Paris, 13 February 1930, from Fernand Gillet, Director of Tourism and Publicity, addressed to René Benjamin, accompanied by a copy of a paper entitled *Social Insurance*, 12 pp., in-4; the sending of this paper was part of a strategy to exert influence: Gillet wanted Benjamin, known for his incisive writing, to take up the subject. At the time, Michelin was firmly opposed to the draft Social Insurance Bill, which it deemed bureaucratic and costly, preferring instead a social protection system managed directly by companies (as was already the case at the Michelin factories in Clermont-Ferrand).
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About the sale René Benjamin, the 20th-century Balzac scholar
Auction location
Auction time 10/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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