267 - MERMOZ Jean

MERMOZ Jean 3 letters “Jean,” Casablanca and Natal, September 1934, to his “Dearest Mom”; 7¼ pages, in-8 format, 2 on letterhead from the Majestic Hotel in Casablanca, the 3rd with an Air France vignette, one envelope. Casablanca. – Monday. “A few words from Casa, where I arrived last night. I was recalled from Perpignan to handle the mail from America; there was no pilot available.” He is still waiting in Saint-Laurent: “Bad weather and little eagerness on the part of the official commission, which must be present for the aircraft’s acceptance before I am authorized to do anything. In short, I think my crossing will be delayed by about fifteen days, and in any case, I won’t be able to make the mail run on the 17th. I’m furious”… – Saturday [September 3]. “Just a few words to let you know that my thoughts are often with you, that everything is going well now, and that we’re leaving tomorrow morning for Cisneros. The day after tomorrow we expect to be in Praïa, and Tuesday evening in Natal”… Natal, September 24, 1934. “I plan to leave tonight for Cisneros and return to Natal eight days later, then on to Rio to finalize my negotiations—which are going very well—and sign the contracts with the Brazilian government. I won’t be returning to France until the end of October. […] Couzinet is in Rio. It seems the orders have been placed. In Rio, I introduced him properly to the government. He might be able to set up something interesting”… Attached is another handwritten letter “Jean” to his mother: “These few words, written in Algiers and which I’m taking with me tomorrow, will bring you a little of my affection. This letter did me a world of good—an excellent mental rest cure. It feels as though I’m waking up from a nightmare that lasted a month and a half!” (1½ pages, in-8 format, on letterhead from the Central Touring Hotel in Algiers). Provenance: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family