Handwritten letter from Marcel Cerdan to Edith Piaf (1948)
Handwritten letter from Marcel Cerdan to Edith Piaf (1948)
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Comes with Certificate of Authenticity and Digital Warranty ©
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In 1948, future boxing world champion Marcel Cerdan, desperately in love, writes to his famous mistress Edith Piaf.
- Handwritten letter from Marcel Cerdan to Edith Piaf.
- One page, front and back, on headed paper with Marcel Cerdan's initials "MC".
- In French.
- 16.9 cm x 24.4 cm.
- Paris, January 17, 1948.
- Excellent condition, with a few small tear stains.
- Unique piece.
Excerpts
My dear little Piaf,
(...) I've been writing to you non-stop and haven't heard anything back from you, what's happening? Have you changed your mind? Have you found someone more interesting who is always by your side? Have you gone back to your little boyfriend?
(...) I won't bother you much, and if you don't want me anymore, you won't see me again, because I know how to suffer in silence.
(...) Thinking about it, I'm lucky because I can live with good memories of you, and when I hear your songs, everywhere, I always have a little bitter smile. But still, I'm happy inside and I think that I was with her and that she sang just for me, maybe you don't remember, it was going down Sixth Avenue and you were singing.
(...) You are a woman everyone loves, and you didn't have time to think about this uneducated little boxer who was a bit silly in front of you.
(...) Now I'm going to tell you what's happening with me and why I'm not in New York yet.
(...) I prefer a fight in Paris before facing the tough guys in New York because, if it doesn't work out, it's better to happen here than there, especially considering the money I earned last time. I'll tell you not to believe everything people say about me. The fight in Canada earned me 1,000 dollars, and the one in Chicago 3,000, all because of my managers, who argued with Madison Square Garden. I pay the price for this because, in the end, I'm the one who takes the punches and suffers.
(...) I love you. I'm yours. Write to me soon. Marcel.
Marcel Cerdan (1916 - 1949) was a great boxer in the 1940s, one of the first French world champions when he defeated American Tony Zale on September 21, 1948, in the United States, bringing him immense fame in a France traumatized by war.
Edith Piaf (1915 - 1963), an internationally famous singer by 1948, met the athlete during a tour in New York at the beginning of the year. It was love at first sight and the great passion of both stars' lives. In 1949, they bought their first home, a private mansion in Paris. Unfortunately, a few months later, on October 28, 1949, Marcel Cerdan died in a plane crash while going to meet Piaf in New York.
Some couples have become legendary: philosophers Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, and Marcel Cerdan and Edith Piaf, symbols of an intense and tragic "French-style" love story. In January 1948, Piaf and Cerdan had just met and had few opportunities to see each other, with Piaf finding success in the United States and Cerdan preparing to conquer the world title across the Atlantic.
Cerdan's love and tears, jealous and with low self-esteem, along with touching details about their relationship, make this intimate letter a very special item.

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