141 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean L.A.S. “Jean,” La Rochelle, November 5, 1927, to his “Beloved Mother”; 2 pages, in-4 format, on letterhead from the Hôtel de France & d’Angleterre. Departure by ship for Brazil. Since the ship did not stop in Bordeaux, he boarded the liner Le Groix in La Rochelle. “It will take me a little longer, as I’ll have to stop in Bilbao, Lisbon, Dakar, Natal, and finally Rio de Janeiro, where I’ll arrive. But that will only make the journey all the more beautiful. […] Mr. Latécoère didn’t want me to make the crossing, but I have instructions to fly from Natal to Chile—a distance of eight or ten thousand kilometers—with just one stopover, and perhaps even to attempt the straight-line distance record!”… Enclosed is a letter “Jean,” Dakar, November 17, 1927, addressed to “Dearest Mom” (1½ pages, in-8 format, with a “Chargeurs Réunis” vignette): “We’re anchored in Dakar. It’s impossible to go ashore because of yellow fever, which is still claiming many victims. It’s incredibly hot!! The crossing has been uneventful so far. It’s rather sad—most of the passengers are disembarking in Dakar, naturally haunted by the fear of the fever! The sea has been splendid since Porto. But from La Rochelle to Portugal, the weather was terrible. Not a moment of illness. I’m eating like four people, as usual. Ten more days of sailing to Rio de Janeiro, where I’ll be staying for the time being”... Correspondence, Nos. 126 and 128. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family