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MARTINOFF Vsevolod (1893–1976), known as Vova, former office…
See original version (French)
187
-
MARTINOFF Vsevolod (1893–1976), known as Vova, former office…
See original version (French)
Estimate €800 - €1,000
Voluntary lot
Description
MARTINOFF Vsevolod (1893–1976), known as Vova, former officer of the Russian Imperial Guard, aviator.
11 letters from the sender and 2 letters to the sender, 1929–1933, to his friend Jean MERMOZ; 29 pages in-4, one on letterhead from the Aéropostale and one from Maurice Roux, coachbuilder.
A fine collection of friendly correspondence concerning the planned air raid.
Paris 1929. Regarding the construction of an aeroplane they wish to purchase jointly for an air raid, for which he places an order with Bernard and sets out the figures: ‘The price of the aeroplane is 450,000 francs – 250,000 francs in cash and 200,000 after the successful raid. The route imposed by Bernard is via Buenos Aires for the commercial promotion of his aeroplane in South and Central America, and he will give us a percentage of the aeroplanes sold in those countries. […] I presented the flight as: Paris–St Louis non-stop. – St Louis–Rio de Janeiro and, if possible, further afield non-stop. – Buenos Aires–Buenos Aires–New York with stopovers for commercial promotion – and finally New York–Paris’… (28 February). We need to find an engine: ‘The best engine currently available is the air-cooled, gear-reduced Gnome & Rhône Jupiter 500 HP’; he mentions Mermoz’s departure for Chile with the Count of La Vaulx, and Laurent Eynac’s new ban on air raids (7 March 1929). He congratulates Mermoz “on the success of your fine feat in the Andes. I had a terrible time whilst we were without news of you”.
Minister Laurent Eynac’s very firm ban on all air raids jeopardised their project (21 March). He congratulated him on having emerged ‘safe and sound’ from his odyssey in Chile: ‘Here, people speak very highly of you, considering you a prodigious pilot’; he kept him up to date on other expeditions and aviation news, and mentioned several pilots (Guillaumet, the Count of La Vaulx, Assolant, Lotti) and aircraft manufacturers (Hispano, Blériot)… (12 April). He sent an account of Mermoz’s exploits in the Cordillera to the editor of *L’Aéronautique* (8 June).
The final test of Mermoz’s ‘zinc’ (Le Comte-de-La-Vaulx) went well, and he is due to set off at the same time as the Graf Zeppelin: ‘What a splendid flight! Needless to say, I’m backing you’ (10 May 1930).
Prague 1933. He was working in Prague for the Aéropostale. He learnt of Mermoz’s departure from Natal and his ‘remarkable success’ (21 May). He discusses the reorganisation of air transport and airmail in Central Europe, involving the Cie Unique, the CIDNA, Air Union and the Aéropostale, and is preparing a report on ‘the Cie Unique’s postal propaganda in general and particularly in Central Europe’, which he will send to Mermoz for his opinion (1 August 1933). His life became difficult following the liquidation of the Aéropostale (16 August). He shared Mermoz’s frustrations: ‘If only you knew how much I understand that desire which sometimes takes hold of you to flee to other horizons, to leave everything behind, to finally find peace… that physical and moral peace which alone can give one the reason and satisfaction to live. There is not a moment in my life when I do not think of you, my dear old friend. You are always by my side; I speak to you so often, I share my sorrows and my joys with you’… (26 August).
Enclosed is a handwritten letter by Martinoff and Mermoz to their friend Charpentier, dated 31 January 1936 (2 pages, oblong in-12), with a covering letter from Charpentier to Mrs Mermoz, the mother (1951).
Provenance: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936);
- Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955);
- Then passed down through the family
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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