MERMOZ (Jean)

Lot 414
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Estimation :
5000 - 7500 EUR
MERMOZ (Jean)
Speech for the Feast of Wings, in Brazil, in homage to A. Santos-Dumont]. [Rio de Janeiro, 1936]. 1 p. one third on 2 ff. in-4 (27.5 x 21 cm) of fine paper, bistre ink and black pencil. Draft corrected and annotated with a beautiful speech by Mermoz in memory of Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian aviation pioneer, who committed suicide on July 23, 1932: "On this day of Wings Day when Brazil honors the memory of one of its greatest men, the precursor and great pioneer that Santos-Dumont was, French hearts beat in unison with Brazilian hearts. The French pilots, pioneers of the first hours of aviation, great aces of war and peace, bring by my voice, to the Brazilian people, to the comrades of the young and already so great Brazilian aviation, the homage of their admiration, their recognition and their Latin affection. They mourned in Santos-Dumont the death of the one who knew how to give them wings at a time when human flight was still a brilliant idea born from the imagination of men: they also mourned the one who lived in France among them, who took off first from a French airfield, who loved France as a second homeland. ...] His life was a symbol of will, of faith in an ideal and superhuman action, of a spirit of sacrifice, of human dignity, of national self-esteem, of unfailing attachment to the homeland, to its destinies, to its traditions, to the greatness of his country to which he gave the inestimable glory of possessing feelings of deep admiration and gratitude which will always animate the new generations of airmen united in the brotherhood of risk, courage, pure action and sacrifice... ...I salute in the name of my comrades and in the name of true France... the memory of Santos-Dumont, the great Brazilian people and the Brazilian Air Force." PROVENANCE: Sale, Paris, October 11th, 2008, lot M103. Fold marks.
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