Postcard talking about Alberto Santos Dumont (1901)

“There is nothing more fashionable at the moment than these Santos Dumont postcards.”

• Postcard from one Frenchman (Edouard) to another (Alexis Porte) showing Santos Dumont's balloon near the Eiffel Tower, in 1901, during the Deutsch Prize.
• Paris, November 1901.
• A leaf.
• In French.
• 9 cm x 14 cm.
• Excellent condition.
• Unique piece.

Handwritten and translated from French

Very expensive, there is nothing more fashionable at the moment than these Santos Dumont postcards.

Here is one that also shows my neighborhood (...).

Printed on the postcard and translated from French

Santos Dumont's last race departing from Parque de Coteaux de Longchamp and returning in 29 minutes and 15 seconds, thus gaining 45 seconds over the imposed time.

Santos Dumont number 7, after passing the Eiffel Tower, heads towards the Parc de Coteaux de Longchamp, a view taken from the Iéna Bridge. Paris, October 10, 1901.

Why is this document interesting and rare?

Mistakes happen, especially on postcards. Here the description indicates the N7 but in reality it was the N6 that appears in the photograph, the same one that Santos Dumont used to win the Deutsch prize a few weeks later, on November 4, 1901. The N7 came much later.

In 1901, Alberto Santos Dumont was already well known for his achievements in the field of aviation. That year, he performed several notable flights aboard his experimental airships, learning from each machine and test. But it was winning the Deutsch award from the French Aero Club that would change his life: he became known to the general public, to the great people of this world as well. Motivated by success and fame, he worked even harder to improve the stability and maneuverability of his aircraft, with the aim of making longer and safer flights.

In this postcard probably written by one Parisian soldier to another, what caught my attention was, in addition to the error in the airship number, the first lines that testify to the fervor regarding the flights of Santos Dumont, the audacious Brazilian writing the first pages of the Aviation history:

Very expensive, there is nothing more fashionable at the moment than these Santos Dumont postcards.