FR EN
a pile of old letters and papers sitting on top of each other
Premium Artcurial

Estimate €4,000 - €5,000
Sale commission
Description
MERMOZ Jean 9 letters, Palmyra, Homs and Thionville, March 1922–November 1923, to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 38 pages, in-8. End of his posting in the Levant, and return to France. Palmyra. – 28 March. He thinks nostalgically of his grandparents’ cider, having been forced to drink stagnant water for six days: ‘I believe thirst is worse than hunger; on the last day of our odyssey […] I have never felt such a terrible sense of distress as when I heard the hollow sound of my canteen, in which not a single drop of water remained’; they walked until they came across a troop of camel riders; his aircraft is beyond repair and is to be destroyed; he did not want “to witness the agony and death of my old bird, which had carried me faithfully for eighty hours and on which I had flown nearly twenty missions; I had grown attached to it like a sailor to his ship; that lifeless thing lived only through the reflexes of my brain – how could I not have grown fond of it?’ – [13 July]. ‘I’m still flying a great deal. I’ve long since passed the 200-hour mark and am calmly heading towards 300 hours’... – [August], there is talk of a total evacuation of Syria; he may well be going to Jerusalem: he was told that ‘it is remarkably filthy and visiting those places gives rise to a veritable trade. […] I have criss-crossed Syria in every direction—or rather, flown over it. […] The day before yesterday we were visited by the big boss of the Levant Air Command. He simply said to me: ‘Well done, Mermoz’. That’s the best compliment he can give a pilot. Anyway, things are moving along’… – 26 September. He recounts in detail another odyssey in a van: setting off from Lebanon to reach Palmyra with 10 people, tyres go flat, no water left in the radiator, they lose the track, set up camp, set off again, got stuck in the sand and ended up travelling 40 km on camelback… He reflects on his return to civilian life: “My daily concern is the path I must carve out for myself. I shall find it. I went through terrible moments that felt like centuries, when my very life hung in the balance at the mercy of the slightest lapse in willpower, the slightest momentary lack of decisiveness, in the blink of an eye, and I came through it safe and sound’… – 24 October: he is planning to return to France in March, but may delay his departure, preferring to wait for the warmer weather. – 16 December. A letter of good wishes; lying on his hard bed in the tent, he thinks “of my grandmother who used to come and tuck me in at night, making my warm, cosy bed with loving kisses and kind words”; he has “six missions, each 400 km long, amongst the Bedouin tribes”. 18 January 1923: he is about to leave Palmyra with regret and has observed the ‘aviator’s halo’, an optical phenomenon ‘caused by a sunbeam illuminating the glow from the propeller in the mist’. Homs, 10 February. He received “the Croix de Guerre with a first commendation in the division’s honour roll” and is preparing to return to France, taking with him “unforgettable memories”; perhaps he will return? ‘Especially if, by chance, I were to remain in civil aviation: an airline is currently being set up and chance might bring me back there one day’… Posted to Thionville (27 November), he resumed his “duties as barracks adjutant” after eight days’ suspension for “inappropriate behaviour in front of young recruits”, and is hoping for leave for Christmas… Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Historical Memories
Auction location
Auction time 11/03/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like