FR EN
an old letter written in french on a piece of paper
Premium Artcurial

Estimate €800 - €1,000
Sale commission
Description
MERMOZ Jean L.A.S. ‘Mermoz’, Agadir, 23 August 1927, to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 2 pages, in-4 format, on Lignes Aériennes Latécoère letterhead. Airfield Commander in Agadir. He was sent to Agadir, where he is moping about: ‘I have an administrative secretary who takes care of all the paperwork, thank goodness. As for me, all I have to do is test the aircraft and liaise with the military authorities, as Agadir is still a closed city. The Colonel-Governor has lent me one of his horses, so I’m going hunting. Tomorrow, I’m setting off in the Company’s car to visit Taraudant and Tiznit, the only two towns in the Extreme South. In short, it’s a life of luxury, which doesn’t suit me, incidentally. It seems to me that I have been labelled as someone who is suddenly good for nothing, and I feel sad every time a courier leaves, seeing my comrades rushing off into the unknown and into danger, whilst I am, after all, holed up here. Fortunately, this won’t last long, and in a fortnight I’ll be leaving for a month in France so that I can really get stuck in again on my return.” Not a single drop of rain has fallen in Agadir for four years: ‘So nothing grows. The famine there is extreme, appalling, to a degree one cannot even begin to imagine! The death toll is very high. We are doing something to remedy this situation, but far too little compared to the scale of the problem!” He asked Rio for some ostrich eggs for his grandparents… Correspondence, no. 123. Provenance: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Passed down through the family
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Historical Memories
Auction location
Auction time 11/03/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like