Oceanographer activist Jean-Michel Cousteau negotiates the terms of a proposed Museum of the Sea in France in 1972.
- April 27, 1972. Letter from the Living Sea Corporation to Louis Merlin regarding the proposed Museum of the Sea in France.
- A typed page in French, signed by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Commander Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
- 21 cm x 29.7 cm.
- Great condition conservation, except for the stained lower left corner.
- Unique piece.
Excerpts
(...) Given the European market, the location of your project and many other considerations, based on my personal experience of European and American public attractions, I confirm that I believe it is a good idea to make Bonheurville an amusement park with different themes, probably three, one of them being about the sea.
(...) Therefore, if this park were to be named after my father (I spoke to him, he agrees), we would like to have control over the quality of the sea theme.
(...) Attached, you will find the first results of the event “Jacques Cousteau´s Living Sea”, which took place on board the Queen Mary cruise ship.
- August 29, 1972. Another letter from the Living Sea Corporation to Louis Merlin about this same Museum of the Sea project in France.
- Two typed pages in French.
- 21 cm x 29.7 cm.
- Great condition.
- Signature of Jean-Michel Cousteau's representative.
- Unique piece.
Extract
(...) from December 11, 1971, to July 31, 1972, 932,984 entries were registered, generating revenue of $2,397,684.
- Attached are a spreadsheet in English showing the corresponding entries and revenues for the attraction "Jacques Cousteau's Living Sea" aboard the famous Queen Mary cruise ship in Long Beach, California, and a newspaper article in French with the title "le commandant Cousteau partisan d´un musée de la mer sur un terrain à vague".
- November 14, 1971.
- In average condition.
- Yellowed, torn paper and some drafts.
Both Jean-Michel Cousteau (born 1938) and his famous father, Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910 - 1997), are two exceptional figures in the history of ocean discovery. They were also pioneering ecologists who raised awareness among people, especially children and adolescents, about the need to preserve the environment. The books and films produced by the Cousteaus have fascinated many generations around the world.
Jean-Michel Cousteau created the Ocean Futures Society in 1999:
Our mission is to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people
Around the world to act responsibly for its protection, documenting
The critical connection between humanity and nature, and celebrating the
The vital importance of the ocean for the survival of all life on our planet.
Born in Toulon (Southern France), he also spent 20 months, from 1981 to 1983, with his father and family in the Amazon. At the time, the Amazon region of Manaus had very few inhabitants. In 2006, the environmentalist returned to the region and found it with 2 million inhabitants, affecting the Rio Negro and the Amazon Rivers.
When you look at the Amazon, which I call the root of the ocean, you see that these rivers are distributed across nine different countries.
In short, for Jean-Michel Cousteau, it is urgent to learn how to manage these resources in the same way that one manages a company, to enjoy the profits without spending the resources.
If you spend more than you earn, you will go bankrupt. That is where we are today. Nobody wants to go there. The Amazon is a treasure that you have in your country.
This set of documents is also interesting because it shows the development of a large-scale project, including the negotiation part. Here it is understood that the name Cousteau, a prestigious brand with restricted usage rights, cannot be used in any way.
