Handwritten letter from Alberto Santos Dumont

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Sick, famous aviator Alberto Santos Dumont apologizes to a friend he was supposed to meet in Paris.

• Handwritten letter from Alberto Santos Dumont to Senhor Del Valle, 53 avenue Victor Hugo.
• One page.
• In French.
• 22 cm x 17.5 cm.
• No exact information about location and date.
• Excellent condition.
• Unique piece.

My dear friend,

I'm so sorry for not being here yesterday. I didn't feel well.

From your friend, A. Santos Dumont

Alberto Santos Dumont (1873 - 1932) became known, above all for being one of the first - the first? - taking off on board a plane with a gasoline engine. Unable to take on his media exposure, feeling responsible for the frequent plane crashes and its use as a weapon during the war, Santos Dumont suffered emotionally. He went into exile in sanatoriums in Switzerland and France, returning to Brazil only in 1931, to live out his last days.

The researcher Mr. Sergio Douglas Cavallari very kindly helped us to understand this letter:

When did Santos Dumont write this letter?

I can almost guarantee it's something from post-World War I. In my research, I clearly concluded that there are "two" Santos-Dumont: one before and one after the conflict (First World War). Even the handwriting has changed, with the appearance of the "=" sign in place of the hyphen. (...) Many say that he started writing Santos=Dumont to value both his Portuguese-Brazilian and French origins. In my opinion, it is complete nonsense. He started using "=" in place of the hyphen, that's all, as it appears throughout the text of several letters, not just in the signature.

Another sign of being post-World War I is that he talks about his health. Several biographers say that, at that time, it was common for him to "disappear" from friends and get-togethers, due to depression. Then he would give some gentle explanation, so as not to be inelegant or make him feel guilty. In 1925 he was hospitalized at the famous Valmont clinic near Lausanne.

Who was Mr. Del Valle, the recipient of this letter?

Several personalities with the surnames Valle or Del Valle lived in Paris at the time. In fact, one of the most famous was the Spanish caricaturist and painter Evaristo Valle, who was exactly the same age as Santos-Dumont. The inventor was very good friends with these art people, including the cartoonist Sem (Georges Goursat) who was admittedly his best friend. The building at Av. Victor Hugo, 53 also looks like it may have been a hotel or a set of rental apartments in the past, it is very similar to several other Santos-Dumont addresses that I collected from his letters.

This letter, in perfect condition, helps us imagine the genius inventor at the end of his life, in Paris, fighting depression. The letter is simple, but we can highlight some interesting details: the comment about his poor health (with a French error), an exceptionally large and legible handwriting and the initials ASD printed in a monogram format, in Asian style, printed on a paper of great quality.