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two old papers with handwriting on them sitting next to each other
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Estimate €700 - €800
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MERMOZ Jean 2 letters ‘Jean’ and ‘Mermoz’, Casablanca, 5 and 23 April 1927, to his ‘Beloved Mum’; 2 pages in-4 each. Dream of a transatlantic flight. 5 April. He has not been granted his leave for July. ‘My leave for July cannot be granted. Apparently, I’m needed here until 1 September, and I won’t be able to get a month’s leave until then. It’s a nuisance because once I’ve made plans for a particular time, I don’t much like being held up. And also, I’d really like to come and give you a hug. So, in any case, I’ll try to arrange to spend eight or ten days in France, if possible around the time of the Lille air show. Am I still a member of the Association Aéronautique du Nord? […] Colonel Denain hasn’t replied to me yet. You need patience because bureaucracy is never in a hurry’… He mentions the article about him by General Girod, prompted by Latécoère ‘in order to get me awarded the Cross […] What a bunch of idiots!!’… Correspondence, No. 112. 23 April. He had a bit of the flu on his return from Juby. “I am in correspondence with Colonel Denain regarding a proposed Atlantic crossing. He has promised to look into it and perhaps I’ll be able to carry it out as a serving soldier, as this sort of activity is forbidden to civilian pilots. I’d so love to succeed! But… Well, if it comes to anything, I’ll have to dash off to the Ministry in Paris. I’m hopeful and I’m waiting’… He’s furious about General Girod’s article about him, ‘calling for me to be awarded the Legion of Honour and all that nonsense! […] If I really deserve it, I want it to be solely for this reason and not through pull. That would spoil the result of my efforts and the joy I can derive from them”… 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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