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two pieces of old paper with handwriting on them
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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MERMOZ Jean L.A.S. ‘Ton Jean’, Buenos Aires, 22 May 1928, to his ‘Beloved Mum’; 2 pages in-4 and 2 pages in-8 on Compagnie Générale Aéropostale letterhead. Reconnaissance flight in Paraguay. He has just ‘spent about twenty days in Paraguay surveying the terrain for our new route’, and has been unable to write to his mother, whom he urges to take some time off: ‘Get some rest. You mustn’t overwork yourself. You know that a mother is the most precious thing in the world, and I’d like to have you with me always.” There is mention of the purchase of a property... He then goes on to discuss the future career of young Fernand Delty: “Let him attend his classes, let him pass his exam, and he’ll join the Company as sure as eggs is eggs. […] I’m now confident in him, and I have no doubt that we’ll manage to turn him into a proper man. As soon as he’s passed his exam, he’ll set off for Toulouse and, once he’s honed his practical skills, I’ll see to it that he comes to America very quickly, where he’ll earn enough money to put some aside and help his parents. He mustn’t lose heart. He needs the determination to succeed. I must admit that I am not often on the ground and that certain realities of life escape me to the extent that I sometimes forget, if only for a moment, that I have concerns other than aviation. In any case, he knows he can count on me completely. […] Above all, he should focus on the Renault 450 to 500-horsepower engines. He’ll have time to practise later on. Naturally, if he could do so right now, for example in the motoring industry, that would be all the better. If only he could get a job in a garage. It’s very difficult to find work in France at the moment”… He’s hopeful of seeing his mother again within two years. “Something’s taking shape for me at the moment, and at the Company itself, I believe. I’m very eager. […] In the meantime, I’m clocking up fifteen to twenty thousand kilometres a month without fail. As far as aviation is concerned, since 1 March, our air service has been running smoothly: two days from here to Natal and two days from Dakar to France. But those ‘messengers of doom’ that the French government praises take eight to ten days to make the crossing – if not longer – and lead laypeople to believe that nothing is working. Anyway, before long we’ll be doing everything by aeroplane, and I assure you that you’ll no longer have cause to complain about letters being late.” A Brazilian woman gave him ‘a wolfdog that had won a prize at a show in Rio de Janeiro, during a same-day journey from Rio to Buenos Aires – 2,500 km in 13 hours – with two Brazilian journalists on board! This was the first time the Rio–Buenos Aires route had been completed in a single day, and it caused quite a stir in Brazil. […] Our menagerie is growing, with a little caiman that I’ll soon have!”… Correspondence, no. 139. Provenance: - 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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