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a set of three old papers with handwriting on them
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MERMOZ Jean 6 letters ‘Mermoz’ (4) or ‘Jean’ (2), Barcelona, January–June 1925, to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 12 pages in-4 and 4 pages in-8, on letterhead from the Nueva Pensión Frascati. On the Spanish lines, from Barcelona to Casablanca. 25 January. He has settled in Barcelona: ‘I’m getting on very well here as it’s a very pretty city. I’m stealing a lot, but anyway, all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. I’m staying in a boarding house for 10 pesetas a day, which is about 27 francs; the owner is Italian, the landlady French, the head chef Corsican, and the maids Spanish, Portuguese and German; […] it’s the best and cheapest guesthouse in Barcelona […] I have one day off on average every three days. We don’t have Sundays or public holidays, but never mind. I set off at half past ten in the morning with the post arriving from Toulouse; I travel as far as Málaga, where I arrive at half past five in the evening after a stopover in Alicante to change planes – that is to say, about 1,000 km in six and a half to seven hours’ flying time during the day in normal weather. I return the following day and make the same journey again with the post coming back from Casablanca; on the third day, I rest if possible. It’s quite tiring because you have to set off and arrive whatever the weather. That said, it’s not beyond our capabilities when you know your job well and enjoy it. Spanish food has only one drawback: it’s cooked in oil, but it’s hearty and your stomach gets used to it quite easily’... 23 February. For the past eight days, there had been only two of them ‘to carry out the entire service: a regular two-leg route between Barcelona, Alicante and Málaga – that is, 1,200 kilometres in 6½ or 7 hours’ flying time each day. What’s more, we’re in the two worst months of the year: storms and gusts of wind spare us nothing, and when you’re up in the air all day, you’re constantly battling the elements; you’re glad when you arrive to find a bed and get some sleep, and I can assure you that I sleep well, with the satisfaction of a job well done. I’m keeping well; I’m still eating like a horse, which doesn’t make me put on weight, as I need to make up for the fatigue. The tough times we’re going through make the moments of calm and rest seem all the better, which is why I’m always in good spirits. […] My home port is still Barcelona and will probably remain so for part of the year, perhaps the whole year, although Dakar is due to open in a month or two and it’s more than likely that I’ll go for a training placement on the new route to Agadir or Cap-Juby”… 17 March. “The service has been completely disrupted these past few days. The storm, which has been raging for the past ten days or so, had stranded nine mail flights in Tangier; there were just three of us left to cover the Barcelona–Alicante–Málaga route, and I flew up to three legs – that is, 10 hours of flying – in a single day in weather conditions I have never encountered in my five years of flying. In the end, everything turned out for the best, as all the flights during this period were completed on schedule without any incidents or accidents – for me, at least’…. 13 April. He laments the poor performance of the franc: ‘It would take a miracle to turn our financial situation round, and I can’t see many people capable of bringing that about at the moment. I wonder where we’re heading. […] Still an enormous amount of work. I hardly ever leave the cockpit of my “car” these days. I spent my Easter Sunday at altitudes ranging from 500 to 2,000 metres, travelling from Málaga to Barcelona from 9 am to 4 pm, and the day before, likewise, from Barcelona to Málaga. I had the opportunity to attend a procession in Málaga. I couldn’t sleep all night because of all the commotion and the shouts from the hooded penitents, who were half-drunk. A strange way to celebrate Good Friday, the Day of the Passion; it’s extremely picturesque, even grandiose”… 18 May. He won’t be getting any leave until October. He’s realised that the Company monitors the pilots’ mail… “I’m still working a lot; I don’t feel too tired because my life is well organised; I have to if I want to make a long career in aviation. I’m earning quite a bit of money – last month, 4,500 fcs!”… 3 June. He’s back from Casablanca. His leave has been postponed. “ It’s just that we’re not exactly sitting idle at the moment. I treated myself to a little trip of at least 1,500 km in a single day: Barcelona, Alicante, Tangier, Casablanca on the 30th, and I flew back up to Barcelona the next day – a 9½-hour flight in a single day ”. He laments the instability of the franc and the exchange rate: “The main thing is that we are granted peace abroad; when you can work in safety, the effort required is nothing. As for me, I’m not complaining. Things are still going well and I hope for a long career in aviation”. Some amusing details about his group of friends at the boarding house… Correspondence, nos. 35, 42, 45, 46, 54, 56 Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family
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About the sale Historical Memories
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Auction time 11/03/2026 at 11:00 AM
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