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a group of old letters and papers sitting on top of each other
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Estimate €5,000 - €7,000
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MERMOZ Jean 8 letters ‘Jean’, Barcelona and Málaga, September–December 1925, to his ‘Beloved Mum’; 14 pages in-4 (one on letterhead from the Nueva Pensión Frascati, three from the Restaurant-Confiserie Royal, one from the Café Inglès in Málaga), and three and a quarter pages in-8 on letterhead from the Restaurant Savoy. On the Spanish coast, from Barcelona to Málaga. Málaga, 6 September. ‘Your letter also lifted me out of the bit of the blues I naturally felt on my return. What can you do? Life is nothing but separations; one is forced to come to terms with it. I’ve thrown myself back into my work with enthusiasm—and I need it, too, because at the moment I haven’t a moment’s rest. I don’t know what this winter will bring, with staff numbers ever dwindling. So we have to do double the work. […] I had terrible weather on the way here and was thoroughly shaken about. I left my boarding house in Barcelona, where I could no longer stand it because of the increasingly meagre food. I’ve got a room in town and I eat wherever I like and whenever I like […] I went to a magnificent bull run here last Sunday, attended by a group of lovely women in mantillas and shawls; it was quite simply marvellous”… Barcelona. – 27 September. He suffered a sting to his right hand which led to an abscess: ‘I spent five nights without being able to sleep a wink. I managed to carry on with my work, despite the fever and the pain, steering with my left hand. There are so few of us! Anyway, since yesterday I’ve been feeling better. I slept from 7 o’clock last night until midday today. I’m back on my feet and it’s now just a matter of changing the dressings. Besides, wherever I am, they know just how to look after me, and I’ve got three women tending to me! So?! »… – 7 October. “I’ve asked today for a month’s leave starting 20 December. I hope it will be granted, because given the work I’m doing for them, I think it’ll be only natural. I’m making two trips a day at the moment, to Alicante and back”… – 22 October. “We’re not taking any more passengers for the time being, as the volume of mail bound for Morocco is so considerable; and, as I want you to fly with me from Toulouse to Barcelona – especially as it’ll be ‘on the house’ – it’s best to wait a little while.” He recounts an amusing escapade with an Andalusian woman, whom he came across whilst stepping over the balcony, and who caused quite a scene, but ‘I’ve gone up a notch in the eyes of the ladies on this floor, and better still! I’ve earned the landlord’s respect’… – 14 November. “Winter looks set to be very harsh for us. We’ve had dreadful weather these past few days. Yesterday, I was caught in a snowstorm. Blinded and buffeted by gusts, I was fortunately able to land halfway without breaking either myself or the camera. It’s been going on non-stop for the past eight days. The cyclones and the fierce winds show no sign of letting up”… – 20 November. “I’m feeling a bit tired. The dreadful weather—snowstorms, winds, rain and the like—is the natural cause of this. For six days running, I’ve been making the daily journey from Barcelona to Alicante and back. I’ve finally managed to get a day’s rest today. It’s going to be a tough winter for us to get through, and I’ll be in better shape after my holiday to face our two worst months, February and March”… – 4 December. “We’re having very bad weather and when I arrive tired, it’s just to go to bed and rest as much as I possibly can.” He’s worried about the fall in the value of the franc: “I can barely manage to put 1,000 fcs aside each month, […] I already get 350 pesetas in pension and I set aside 300 for my out-of-pocket expenses. There’s not much left after that; it makes me angry sometimes when I think that a trip where I’ve sometimes risked my life every minute brings me 90 fcs, that is to say 23 pesetas. That’s selling myself short. Anyway, you’ve got to take it in your stride. The best thing is to make the most of the moment whilst waiting to work towards something’... Málaga: ‘My ten-day leave has been granted, but it’s conditional on a colleague returning to work who’s currently on leave. So I won’t be leaving for another fortnight or so, […] we’ll be seeing each other soon. […] I arrived in Málaga about two hours ago. A seven-and-a-half-hour flight today. I’m heading back to Barcelona tomorrow. Still plenty of work. We’re never at full strength, yet the work still has to be done, which means we’re taking on double and triple the workload. […] I’ve just had three breakdowns in quick succession between Alicante and Barcelona. That’s just the start. Everything went well, with no damage done. Anyway, things are moving along. As long as it keeps going’... Correspondence, nos. 64, 66, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75 and 50. 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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