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a handwritten letter written in black ink on a piece of paper
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,200
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MERMOZ Jean L.A.S. ‘Jean’, Marseille, 9 May 1932, to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 2 densely written pages, in-4 Aviators’ Congress in Rome; preparations for the Arc-en-Ciel. He hopes, as Gilberte has announced, to visit them for Whitsun… ‘I’m leaving on the 20th for Rome, where I’ve been invited by Mussolini and Balbo to attend the Transatlantic Aviators’ Congress for eight days. We are to discuss all matters relating to the possibilities for commercial and postal transatlantic services. I am going there with a new twin-engine seaplane, the test flights for which I have just completed, and which the Aéropostale Executive Committee is making available to me. Dabry and Gimié are, of course, accompanying me. The Italians prefer those who have achieved results to our incompetent MPs. They are more intelligent than we are”… His wife Gilberte is deeply saddened by her brother’s death: ‘This does nothing to bring the peace of mind I have been longing for over the past year and which I so desperately need. Fortunately, I have my work, which gives me every satisfaction and renews all my energy to carry on fighting. But I must confess… to you… that right now I feel the need to spend a month or two on my own in some godforsaken village… a month in the countryside to calm my nerves, completely cut off from everything that makes up my current life of worries; a month alone with you two, who love me dearly and possess the wisdom to understand everything – that would be very good’… Then he returns to the subject of aviation: ‘My long-range aircraft will, I hope, be ready by the end of this month, and I shall begin my test flights in Paris in preparation for my record-breaking flight to Buenos Aires, the date of which I shall set according to the weather forecast […] Things at the Aéropostale seem set to sort themselves out very quickly. The elections, which are leaning to the left, will favour this development, which I believe will be very favourable for Mr Bouilloux-Lafont. I would be delighted for both him and myself… My situation would change overnight, and I would be able to look forward to an even brighter future. I have no cause for complaint at the moment. Everyone at the Aéropostale is keen to please me. It is true that I am above all the political manoeuvring, that I get on well with everyone because I spend a great deal of time acting as a mediator, smoothing things over and dispelling doubts and misunderstandings. I would never have believed that men could tear each other apart with such passion as soon as their personal interests are at stake’… 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
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Auction time 11/03/2026 at 11:00 AM
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