Handwritten letter from Alberto Santos Dumont (1930s)

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Being treated for depression in a famous clinic in Switzerland, the famous aviator Alberto Santos Dumont does manual work.

Letter handwritten and signed by Alberto Santos Dumont. One page. In French. 21 cm x 27 cm. Valmont, Switzerland, around 1930. Excellent condition. Single piece.

Dear lady

Enclosed is your album, which I have repaired as best I could; together is the book with the guard work of the Lady of Vevey. I ask you to look at it and also to show it to Dr. Widmer. I think this lady works very well. Dear Madam, I ask you to accept my most respectful homage.

Santos Dumont

Alberto Santos Dumont (1873 - 1932) was known above all for being one of the first - the first ? - taking off aboard a plane with a gasoline engine. Unable to assume his media exposure, feeling responsible for the frequent plane crashes and its use as a weapon during the war, Santos Dumont suffered emotionally.

In 1925 he was hospitalized at the famous Valmont clinic near Lausanne, run by Dr. Henri-Auguste Widmer. Santos Dumont wrote this curious letter during a stay at the clinic, where he seems to have dedicated himself to small handicrafts.

This exceptional letter helps us to imagine the brilliant inventor at the end of his life, in Switzerland, struggling with depression.