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a group of three old papers with handwriting on them
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MERMOZ Jean 5 letters ‘Mermoz’ (2 ‘Jean’), July–October 1925, to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 6½ pages in-4, on letterheads from the Café Inglès in Málaga, the Pension Zaragoza in Alicante, and two from the Nueva Pensión Frascati in Barcelona), and 2 pages in-8. On the Spanish lines. Málaga, 4 July. He is waiting for his leave to go and see them. ‘Always travelling non-stop. Still happy and enthusiastic, though I’m feeling a bit tired at the moment. This intensive work, combined with the heat, is a bit depressing. I’ve just done a 7½-hour flight today and the same again tomorrow to fly back. The other day, I went to Toulouse – a 10½-hour flight in a single day – and that’s quite common’… Alicante, 23 July. His leave has been postponed: “So, there’s no need to worry yourself sick in advance. And thank goodness! Accidents aren’t that common in commercial aviation!”… Barcelona, 26 August. “I’ve returned to Barcelona for good. I don’t think I’ll be going to Dakar now, and I might join the International Air Navigation Company this winter, flying the Paris–Strasbourg–Prague route, etc. My visit went absolutely brilliantly and I managed to see quite a few people at Le Bourget. I’ve been back at work for a few days now, and I’m actually quite enjoying it. […] I spend my days off at the swimming and gymnastics club I belong to. I’m still getting sunburnt on my shoulder blades and sides – well, it’s the ideal life, just a bit far from France”…. – 13 September. “Still working. I’m going to get more done this month than I have so far; there’s still a shortage of staff; fortunately, I’ll have some satisfaction at the end of the month. The bad weather has come to remind us that our leisure trips will soon be coming to an end. We’re having terrible storms, almost cyclones at times, and we’re back to the aerial foxtrots and tangos of bad weather. It’s a habit we have to get back into, and we’ll have to make it second nature again – something we’d gladly do without, but which we can’t avoid in our line of work. […] You know, aviation is always a source of incidents, the significance of which we know only too well having experienced them, but which do not always interest the layman […] I’ve left the boarding house where I was staying; I’m now in a private home, I have my own room, I eat with my landlords, and they speak only Spanish there, which helps me learn it a bit better. I spend my days off at the club; I’m now quite well known there for my athletic performances and have made some good friends there as well”… Alicante, 12 October. He is suffering from an ‘abscess on his right hand caused by a spider bite. I went five nights without being able to sleep, but I carried on with my work regardless, with my arm in a sling and piloting with my left hand. There was no one to replace me; the mail still had to be delivered. […] There are only two of us in Barcelona, which means I’m on every flight. There’s a shortage of pilots […] We have up to five hundred kilograms of post alone every day; passenger traffic has been suspended and our aircraft will soon no longer be sufficient for such a load, if it continues to increase at this rate’... He learnt of ‘the deaths of many of my former comrades and officers amongst the Riffians’... Correspondence, nos. 59, 63, 65, 68. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - 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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