181 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean Autograph letter signed “Jean,” Buenos Aires, January 6, 1929, to his grandparents, the GILLETs; 2 pages, in-4 format, on Via Aeropostal paper (the bottom of the letter is slightly frayed). Warm wishes for 1929. He is scheduled to board the Lutetia on February 1. “My sponsor is in Paris; he has raised some capital and believes he can provide me with the aircraft I requested. Now we just need authorization from the Minister of Aviation, who has banned transatlantic flights until further notice. My sponsor has requested a meeting with him. I think things are going to take off. My director here is urging me to make this flight, as are all my colleagues, arguing that I have all the professional and other advantages on my side. But in Paris, they’re doing everything they can to stop me from moving forward with my project—they’re so afraid that I’ll leave the company for good if I succeed—and I’m running into a whole host of difficulties that are being created for me at the ministry and at the manufacturer. If I pull it off, what a feat!! And I’m confident I’ll succeed!! What a great achievement if I manage to make this dream come true! In the meantime, work here remains intense. I’ve sent letters over the past 8½ days. But the Germans and Americans are gearing up. Finally, a good year has come to an end, and another good one is beginning. In 1928, I covered another 112,000 km—nearly three times around the world. Now, if I haven’t wasted my time, I haven’t wasted my money either. I earned 220,000 francs this year and managed to set aside 180,000 francs. I worked my tail off, as they say, but I’m happy to have this small nest egg and not to have worn myself out for nothing”… Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family