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two old letters and a piece of paper with writing on them
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
MERMOZ Jean 2 handwritten letters ‘Jean’, Buenos Aires, 12 December [1929] and undated, to his ‘Beloved Mum’; 1½ pages on Via Aéropostal tissue paper (torn but complete), and 2 pages in-4 on Aeroposta paper. Plans to cross the North Atlantic. 12 December. He is waiting for his replacement to arrive so he can set off and go and give his mother a hug. ‘They intend to have me attempt the North Atlantic crossing; naturally, I’ll only do it if I judge the aircraft to be up to the task – you can imagine!! and absolutely certain of reaching my destination… otherwise I shall focus my efforts on the Paris–B. Aires route, the entire course of which I know, to try and beat Costes’s record… and alone… à la Lindbergh. Anyway, I’m so hopeful of reaching my destination soon!! […] I’m off to Rio tomorrow to pick up the big boss, Bouilloux-Lafont, who’s just arrived from France: my life at the moment is rather hectic. I’m popping up all over South America, from the north-east to the west, in my red taxi – the same type I plan to use for my expedition, much to the despair of a little girl I know well”… “I’m setting off again tonight on an expedition to Chile and Bolivia with the Company’s Managing Director and the Director of Radio, Serres (the same man who spent four months in Mauritania), who have just arrived from France. […] Furthermore, the Director is beginning to introduce me to the ins and outs of operations at the request of Mr Bouilloux-Lafont, who wants to give me a new route to manage as soon as I wish. I have agreed to take it on within the next two years. I will be approaching thirty by then and will thus have a permanent position, which will still allow me, despite everything, to continue active flying as a pilot, but on my own terms. It will be to the Americas or Indochina. In the meantime, Latécoère is going to provide me with an aircraft to fly from Toulouse to Buenos Aires non-stop, if possible. It is expected to be ready in three months. I shall then make a few crossings in a seaplane from Marseille to Algiers, before attempting the first aerial postal crossing from Marseille to Rio de Janeiro’… Enclosed is a letter ‘Ton Jean’, Buenos Aires 192, addressed to ‘My dearest little Maman’ (1 p., in-8, on Compagnie Générale d’Entreprises Aéronautiques letterhead). He would write to her on his return from Chile, ‘as I am going to fly from Rio to Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile without stopping here on the way back’… Provenance: - 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
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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