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ÉTIENNE Victor (1902–1934)
See original version (French)
211
-
ÉTIENNE Victor (1902–1934)
See original version (French)
Estimate €500 - €700
Voluntary lot
Description
ÉTIENNE Victor (1902–1934)
2 letters, 1930–1931, to Jean MERMOZ; 5 pages in-4 and 2 pages petit in-4.
Beautiful and rare letters from the Aéropostale pilot to his friend Mermoz.
Rio, 11 May 1930. [Prior to the flight from Saint-Louis-du-Sénégal to Natal (12–13 May), during which Mermoz would break the record for the longest straight-line distance in a seaplane.] He is awaiting the arrival in Rio of his ‘dear old “lilac” branch’! […] the outcome of this attempt leaves me in no doubt, and you cannot imagine the inner joy I am already deriving from this fine endeavour; I have had nothing to do with it myself, but is it not, for us, the crowning glory of this sustained effort, with all the trials we have endured over these two years? That this task should rightfully have fallen to you is only fair, but I am even happier that it has gone to this ‘old mate’”… The day before, ‘the Montevideo accident’ involving Négrin-Pranville took place. It is a severe blow to the Company as a whole, and particularly painful for those who remain, the indirect victims of this accident’. Étienne laments the deterioration in morale, which ‘was no longer what it had been in America. Of our once-wonderful collective spirit, only a shadow remained; we no longer had confidence in ourselves; if we spoke of certain difficulties, we were almost taken for blufers; fines were raining down everywhere and general discontent was erupting. So much so that I myself was fed up; I had made up my mind to leave America as soon as possible; Négrin assisted Pranville admirably; I had not thought that such a narrow-minded spirit reigned within that lad […] I had a sort of foreboding about this incident, which I attributed to Pranville’s excessive zeal or ambition and recklessness’”… He makes no secret of his grief and anger: ‘even if death is but a mere detail to us, the consequences are always painful’… He adds that he recently lost his brother… He is waiting for “the car that is to take me to the camp to deliver this final post until I meet St Ex [Saint-Exupéry], who is travelling up from B-Aires”… Finally, he speaks of Mermoz’s fiancée, Gilberte Chazottes: “Lucky devil, you can say you’re loved, have hope, and who knows what else!”… He is soon to set off for Jamaica with “that old Pauvert”…
Toulouse, 24 October 1931. He gives news of his wife Clotilde, who had been ill and hospitalised. They are settled in their flat in Toulouse, but Clotilde ‘must still stay in bed for a while; it is an illness that does not weaken her but takes a long time to heal; I am thinking, moreover, of you, Madame Mermoz, who have also been significantly affected by much the same ailment; how unpleasant it is to be confined to bed, and how rest becomes almost a penance when, logically speaking, one does not feel physically ill; well, just a little while longer and I believe everything will be back to normal. So, my old friend Jean, how much must you be fretting and moping over this long delay in your project? I follow your progress daily—your trials and also your approaches to the Minister, which, I must say, are the most utter nonsense our aeronautics has yet had to endure; but from what I read, there is still some hope for the end of this month’…
Attached are two documents concerning Étienne’s appointment as a Knight of the Legion of Honour, to be received by Mermoz (3 December 1931).
Source: - 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.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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