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a piece of old paper with handwriting on it
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Estimate €700 - €800
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MERMOZ Jean L.A.S. ‘Jean’, Buenos Aires, 20 September [1928], to his ‘Beloved Mum’; 2 pages, in-4, on Via Aéropostal paper. New routes to Uruguay. He sent her money via telegraphic money orders, which were expensive but practical: ‘I have placed my money in a one-year fixed-term deposit at 6 per cent. The Company deducts from my monthly salary in Rio the sum I have decided to set aside regularly. This saves me a lot of hassle with my all-too-frequent travels, but I cannot access this sum until the end of the agreed term. So I am sending you this money from the sum I receive – rather irregularly, incidentally, as I am rarely in Buenos Aires for more than a fortnight a month. As soon as I arrive, I’ll send you a telegraphic cheque’… He is ‘waiting. I have so much work on my plate here that they keep putting off sending me off. I’m about to start my trips to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. And then I’m in charge of installing new routes in Uruguay. I have to give a demonstration of the new 12-passenger Latécoère aircraft in the various capitals of South America. I’ll be carrying out all the load tests on this aircraft here, rather than in France, in preparation for the long-distance flight I intend to undertake. If the results are as conclusive as I expect, I’ll set off immediately once my task is complete. Count on me, but don’t count on me too soon. […] I’m a bit tired at the moment after two years of non-stop work… but then again, I’m no worse off for it. I’m still going strong’, apart from a tapeworm that’s wearing him out a bit… He hopes that the stay in Royat has been beneficial for his mother… “I’ll find out whether the climate in Buenos Aires might be harmful to you, because in any case I’d like you to come and spend some time there, either this year (I hope so), or next year after my leave ’… She’s going to be visited by the grandfather of ‘my little Gilberte’ [his fiancée Gilberte Chazottes]: ‘He’s a charming old man, you’ll see, and he’s very fond of me. So, he’ll tell you all about it—well… you’ll have a chat… All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds… her parents are lovely to me too, and I’m happy”… She mustn’t be sad any longer: ‘The distance will never drive a wedge between us. […] I still love you just as much. No matter what life throws at us, it will never be able to separate us emotionally… never… It’s keeping us apart for now, but later… even when I’m married… once I’ve settled down, I don’t want you to live so far away from me any more… you’ll see… my little Mum. I love you very much, very tenderly, my darling Mum, and I kiss you as much as I love you, with all my soul”. Correspondence, no. 147.  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
Auction location
Auction time 11/03/2026 at 11:00 AM
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