Premium Artcurial
239
-
MERMOZ Jean
See original version (French)
239
-
MERMOZ Jean
See original version (French)
Estimate €600 - €800
Voluntary lot
Description
MERMOZ Jean
L.A.S. ‘Jean’, Oran, 15 December [1931], to his ‘beloved Mum’; 3 pages, in-8, on letterhead from the Grand Hôtel d’Oran.
Before his attempt to reclaim the world record for distance flown on a closed circuit (on 29 December, the aircraft, being too heavy, would crash).
He has not yet set off: ‘we’ve been waiting for the moon, which is already beginning to grow considerably, which might perhaps allow us to take off by the end of the week. I’ve had enough of waiting, of biding my time. I won’t regret this year, which has done nothing but fray my nerves without any result ’. He thinks they’ll be reunited by Christmas: ‘A quick check of the engine if we manage it, and then we’ll set course for Paris. Naturally, we mustn’t let this idea make us do anything foolish and set off too quickly’… Life in Oran isn’t much fun: ‘I’d much rather be back home… or else in the big city’…
He understands and shares his mother’s sorrows: ‘My dear Mum, above all, don’t doubt—I repeat—that I love you very dearly with all my heart. I am still your son. My God, if my character has changed through sheer willpower, to allow me to seize my chances of happiness and success in this life and to build my life on foundations as fragile as human effort and thought, my core has remained the same, and I too suffer from so many things! But… I don’t want to suffer. I’m holding you very tight in my arms.”
Source: - 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
You may also like