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a couple of old papers sitting on top of each other
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Estimate €4,000 - €5,000
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MERMOZ Jean 4 letters ‘Jean’ (one ‘Mermoz’), Casablanca, May–June 1926, to his ‘Beloved Mummy’; 11½ pages, quarto. Whilst on the Dakar route, he fell into the hands of the Moors. 2 May. ‘I am now posted solely to Dakar. A return journey takes 15 days. 14 days off in Casa and 15 days’ rest at Cap Juby or in Dakar. All in all, it’s not at all tiring, and I’m getting 1,700 to 1,800 fcs a month on top of my normal pay, which brings my total to 5,500 fcs a month. […] I’ll probably take my leave in August […] I’m still in touch with the airlines, but I’m waiting to see what opportunities arise and what terms they offer. I don’t want to give up something very interesting for something uncertain that might be less so. […] I’ve just received my Aero-Club medal – not bad at all. When I’m broke, I’ll be able to cash it in. A little bit of glory isn’t worth much these days’... He’d like to know the dates of the air shows in Lille, Douai or Valenciennes: ‘I think I might be able to get there in a Latécoère aeroplane to do a bit of publicity and carry some passengers if it happened to coincide with my leave. I have good reason to believe the company wouldn’t refuse me—quite the opposite, in fact’… He is “caught up in a whirlwind of extremely comical romantic entanglements. What a farce life is! It’s enough to make you die of laughter at times, and I watch impassively as a spectator to these tragicomic scenes, of which I am very often the conscious and deliberate architect… […] I’ll probably be changing my address. I’m having trouble with my landlady, who has fallen in love with my unworthy self and whose latent feelings have become a cause for concern as far as I’m concerned. At the moment, I don’t feel in a position to save up for a room—something I could easily arrange for myself—and as things are getting complicated both here and elsewhere, I’d rather move on to a new neighbourhood”… * – 18 May. He refers to ‘the collapse of the franc’ and the situation in Morocco: ‘Here we are very pessimistic and expect a fatal outcome, bankruptcy. The war in Morocco is going ahead, but we expect major European complications on this matter very soon. In short, the future doesn’t look bright. […] Let’s not worry too much about the future. I do think about it, it’s true; I’ll always have enough to cope with whatever might happen. But I don’t deny myself anything. I put everything I have to spare aside. Now, I’m starting to work properly towards something. I’ll be able to put 3,000 fcs aside regularly each month, barring any unforeseen circumstances. And then there’s civil aviation getting organised. Airlines are set to go international; there will be standardised pay scales for international pilots. There’s a lot of talk about pensions. The International League of Professional Pilots has just been set up by an American. […] In short, there’s a great deal of progress on this front, and a day will come – soon, I believe – when we’ll have security for our uncertain future”… In Cap-Juby, he has a tame gazelle and a monkey… 11 June. He talks about his car, an Amilcar, ‘which runs perfectly’… He is thinking of America, of Brazil, but also of joining a car manufacturer… – 15 June. He has been “feeling a little unwell since my captivity amongst the Moors”, suffering from difficult bowel movements and haemorrhages, “the result of the radiator water mixed with acid that I was forced to drink for nearly forty-eight hours. […] I had 3,000 fcs’ worth of supplies for our mess hall in Juby, which I take there at the start of every month and which were lost when I fell into the hands of the Moors. Furthermore, I had 800 francs on me which were stolen, as they stripped me of my belongings. The company must reimburse me for all of this shortly. […] My Director wrote to me personally regarding my captivity amongst the Moors, expressing his complete satisfaction and pride! Nonsense. I’ve been approached about going to South America at the end of the year to open the new route. But for two years, without returning. It’s true that as a salary, it would be perfect and I could return with at least 150,000 francs”… He has just “taken 20 days’ leave and the weather is lovely in Casablanca. Tomorrow, I’m going to visit Marrakesh and its palm grove. In a fortnight, I’ll be off to Fez”… Correspondence, nos. 87, 88, 89, 90. 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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