"I'm only 54, but I think I've been working too much and I'm like a 70-year-old man because everything tires me."

• Unpublished handwritten letter from Alberto Santos Dumont to Paul Tissandier.
• One page.
• In French.
• Gstaad, Switzerland.
• January 8, 1927.
• Excellent condition of conservation.
• Unique piece.

Portuguese translation

My dear Tissandier,

I came here to Gstaad, it's close to Val-mont, two hours already seems like a huge journey!

I'm only 54 years old, but I think I've been working too much and that I'm like a 70-year-old man because everything tires me: I don't feel like skiing anymore, I just go for walks a bit, I haven't done any of the excursions yet.

As for the future, I don't know what I'm going to do. It's very likely that I'll move back to Val-Mont. I'm afraid I won't be able to live in a big city anymore.

I'm sorry I can't tell you if I'll have the strength to travel to Paris. A thousand friendships for the whole family.

Your friend.

Santos Dumont.

Park Hotel, Gstaad, 8.1.27

Known by Brazilians as the father of aviation, Alberto Santos Dumont (1873 - 1932), the first man to take off in a plane powered by a gasoline engine, does not hold the same title in other countries around the world. The question of who invented the first airplane still causes debate. The American Wright brothers have their paternity recognized in most nations. In France, for example, Clément Ader carries the honor of merit. However, if they all contributed to the history of aviation, why not share the record of this child? Whether it is a question of ego or authorship, for the great geniuses, it was difficult to share the glories of their revolutionary invention.

Still, the era of pioneers came to an end, and the blow was very hard for the Brazilian aviator. Dumont's weak mental state can be seen in the letter he wrote to his friend Tissandier, a famous engine inventor, in 1927. At that time, our father of aviation was already admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in Valmont, Switzerland, where he spent several years treating his psychiatric condition. In the letter, Dumont talks about his fatigue, and that despite being only 54 years old, he feels like a man of 70, no longer having the energy for activities that used to bring him pleasure. As for the future, I don't know what to do, he said in his letters.

After years of hard work that had taken a toll on his health, aviation was becoming popular, and with it, the exclusivity of its creators disappeared. Other events ended up undermining the creator's self-esteem; he had to admit that it was the Wright brothers who created the first airplane, and, in addition, he saw his great invention being used for military purposes of mass destruction in the First World War. Perhaps for this reason, Dumont, as he himself states in his letter, no longer thought of living in a big city; he was tired of the hubbub.

Even though the story does not have the happiest of endings, it is certainly a learning experience. Dumont was a genius who revolutionized the world, but he was unable to control his thoughts. Whether or not he was the sole inventor of the airplane, his contribution is undeniably part of the entire human effort to fly, and it is as part of a society, and not as isolated individuals, that we evolve. What would Dumont say if he knew that his invention was essential in proliferating the health crisis we are experiencing today? But also how many hugs, encounters and moments of happiness have aviation brought to our lives? When we learn to share equally the glories and the calamities, we will grow collectively.

This letter announces the tragic end of Santos Dumont, whose letters, autographs and photographs are sought after by collectors around the world.