Pierre BALMAIN (1914-1982) couturier. L.A. (signed on back of envelope), Paris [14.XI.1975], to Mlle Anna Maillard; 8 pages in-8, autograph envelope signed. Long, friendly letter to his "Dear Michou". He thanks her for her letter, found on his return from his usual long stay "in the Far East": "friendship, you know, needs no genius - the simplest of its expressions warms the heart"... He was very flat when he wrote his letter from Marrakech: "the fatigue of a long year of anguish and effort had charged me with a weariness that was turning black. Admittedly, my personal situation is not much better, and I have seen the crumbling of a fortune patiently built up over the years - but business is looking better, and I think I'm finally out of the rut"... He even ends up aspiring to retirement, "to which, curious attitude of mind, I have never yet given in [...]. Arranging a more modest train seems desirable - getting rid of what's left of the precious objects I've patiently collected on my travels seems quite possible - and, I'm surprised to realize, indifferent!"He considers with some relief leaving his "caravanserai" for a much smaller bachelor pad near the Bois, without as many staff, but wishes to keep Marrakech "(Inch'Allah)" for longer stays... He warns Michou about his plan to live with Paul André at Beauvoir, which he feels is dangerous for their friendship, as the latter is "of all your friends, the most attentive, the most willing always to do your bidding"... Balmain will come to Savoie as usual for All Saints' Day: "It will be good to meet again in this good house - we'll drape ourselves in shawls and lodens and try to remember better to forget the moment [...] and we have so much to say to each other!"... )