What documents of yours are you the most
proud of ?
There is this great
document that I bought and that the public wants
to admire : it’s Eisenhower’s cease-fire order, signed by his own hand
on 07 May 1945.
This top-secret
document put an end to World
War II; it’s a fantastic manuscript. But I think it’s not properly
displayed in the Museum: people pass by and don’t see that it’s an
exceptional piece.
The calculation
pages on Einstein’s General Relativity are important.
We bought Corbie’s
Chart written in August 1825, signed by
Charlemagne’s son and grand-son : unfortunately, we can’t exhibit it
too much because it might be altered by heat and light.
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Notes from Marie Curie
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Albert Einstein notes
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Eiseinhower and the end of WWII |
Which
document would like to get ?
If tomorrow I could
mobilize the whole world, then it would be for
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Codex that belongs to Bill Gates. At the time he
bought it, he paid a ridiculous amount : 60 million dollars ! In actual
fact, he owns the most fabulous written treasure in the world.
I have a
reproduction, a slight consolation.
MOZART (1786)
What is
exactely a “Ballon Monté” ?
“Ballons Montés”
are letters written by the Parisians between 19
September 1970 and 27 January 1871, while Bismarck had surrounded
Paris. The only way to leave Paris with letters and a few people was
through hot-air balloons, inflated with gas in the Parisian railway
stations. These balloons were requisitioned; 67 left Paris during these
times. If you were in Paris, you would send your letter with the
mention “par ballon monté” (by hot-air balloon). You would post it, and
all letters were then put in some big bags that were hanging on the
balloon.
If the balloon fell
on the German
side, everything was lost. If it fell on the right side, it was then
distributed through normal channels. This is the first airmail
adventure and for that reason the “Ballons Montés” are collected all
over the world. The nicest collections are in the United States, Italy
and United Kingdom.
What makes
the value of a “Ballon Monté” ?
The balloon that
was used to transport it. For instance, the Armand
Barbès that transported Léon Gambetta in its nacelle. Some balloons had
exceptional adventures like the Montgolfier that fell in Alsace and was
captured by Prussians.
Then of course, you
have the letter’s content, and philatelic criteria such as postage,
medium, …
There were also some circulars; for instance the Société Générale Bank
was communicating with its agents. And there were some newspapers : the
morning or evening news, papers like Le Petit Journal, Le Gaulois.
Today, a basic
“Ballon Monté” letter is worth 500 to 800 euros, but
one letter alone can reach 100.000 euros. The destination plays a big
part : since there were 40.000 foreigners in surrounded Paris, there
were for example some Chinese people who wrote to Hong Kong. One of
these letters sent by “Ballon Monté” was retrieved then sent by boat to
Hong Kong, and its value is now between 120.000 and 130.000 euros.
There are other
criteria such as quality keeping, type of writing, postage.
Those who play a
role in the price are mainly interested in quality and scarcity.
How do you
keep an antique document, a letter, a manuscript or a “Ballon Monté” ?
In boxes or in
display cabinets, like in the Museum. There are some
binders made of a special neutral PH plastic that does not alter the
documents.
Interestingly, we
note that the oldest documents,
written with some equally old ink, are better preserved than today’s
documents. In those days, ink and paper was of excellent quality, and
this is not the case anymore in our time.
The documents
dating from 15th to 20th century are generally well kept.
Now tell me
about the “Boules de Moulins ” (Moulins Balls) !
I told you how the
Province was receiving letters during Paris Siege,
but if on the contrary you were in the Province, then you would write
to Paris “via Moulins (Allier District)”. The letter would reach
Moulins post office, stamped for 1 Franc of which 80 centimes were
given back to the inventors. It was then locked in a ball that held 500
to 600 letters; the ball was sealed. Then it would be sent to the town
of Bray-sur-Seine, about 100 km from Paris, and the ball would be
thrown in the Seine River. Thanks to its fin system, the ball would
roll at the bottom of the river, pushed by the current. The
balls were
retrieved at the mouth of Paris with fishermen nets. This was a very
clever system.
But unfortunately,
the temperature went down to
-20°C in January 1871; the Seine River carried blocks of ice and the
balls kept going, no net could catch them … since then, out of 55, 30
balls were retrieved in perfect condition. By now, there should still
be 25 balls in the water. These letters are very rare and extremely
sought after.
Was the mail
retrieved in these balls ever delivered ?
As for the balls
retrieved in 1968 and 1982, the mail was delivered.
It gave rise to legal proceedings. The diver who found the balls and
the inventors’ families fought over their ownership. The French Post
considered that this was some mail to be delivered and Rouen Court of
Appeal gave reason to … the French Post that undertook to deliver the
mail. Therefore, some families received news from their relatives more
than 100 years later.
We have here a
typical example of a
letter delivered after the 1968 discovery, bearing the French Post
stamp “handed back to the beneficiary on …”
.
What is the spirit
and working principle of Paris Museum of Letters and Manuscripts
?
(GL and PF) :
We try to show the diversity that is currently found in
the letters and manuscripts presented on the market and in private
collections. This concerns many different areas such as Literature,
Arts, Sciences, History. Before this Museum, there was no Museum in
France devoted to written works.
Today, would they
be
tourists, schoolchildren, … everyone can discover in the very same
place a letter written by Victor Hugo, Napoléon, Louis XV or de Gaulle.
We work like
traditional Museums : fixed opening hours, with the
possibility to organize conference visits, and some permanent or
temporary exhibitions three times a year.
We also organize
workshops to introduce schoolchildren to the various ways of writing
all over the world.
With the exception
of collectors and searchers who would go to the BNF
(France National Library), the public at large did not have any access
to written works until we opened this Museum.
We work without
any state subsidies. There is no speculation, but since we are not
getting any support from the government, we have to appeal to various
partners : either the banks or our customers …
We have a cultural
and educational role. We also support certain scientists who are
working on written items.
What was the
starting point of this Museum project ?
(GL) : I got this
idea by accident. I organized a first exhibition of
letters and manuscripts at the Grimaldi Castle in Cagnes-sur-Mer. This
exhibition was a real success. I then considered having an exhibition
place in Paris : it took me 6 years to find the right place.
What are the
main difficulties you encountered ?
(GL) : To
find a place, to fund the Museum, to look for the first
collections that would be lent to us, to meet a team able to handle the
presentation of the Museum … you don’t build everything in one day !
Are there
any similar Museums in the world ?
(GL) : Not in
Europe. Bodmer Foundation in Geneva is kind of similar,
but it mainly has books. I think we will develop the Museum of Letters
and Manuscripts concept in other European countries.
I never heard of
such a Museum in America, although this kind of market is very
developed there.
How do you
enhance the documents you put on exhibition ?
(PF) : Admittedly,
a letter is pretty austere and you must retain the
visitor’s attention whatever his age or culture, but the written form
in itself attracts the attention.
Then you have the
whole set-up
: the air-conditioned display cabinets with very good inner lights
especially designed for the Museum, a leaning presentation with some
cards and pictures of the authors of the letters.
Since the
Museum creation 4 years ago, what are the exhibitions you organized ?
(PF and GL) :
Napoléon correspondence, Latin calligraphy, Jules Verne,
Sartre and the artists, the Memory’s Square inaugurated by Ivan Levaï
(introducing letters written in the concentration camps. These
documents are very difficult to find but we have increased our
collection since then), the Sciences Square, some illustrated letters,
letters from the great musicians. We also have themes like Jean
Cocteau, Titanic, “Parlez-moi d’Amour” (Tell me about Love), Calamity
Jane, then the “Aéropostale” (French Airmail Services) … Don’t forget
that it takes at least 5 or 6 months to prepare an exhibition.
How do you
gather exhibitions’ documents ?
(GL and PF) : We
use the Museum’s collection, our customers’ network,
and according to each exhibition, we contact various partners or
institutions.
We also lend our
documents for other exhibitions in France or overseas.
Out of all
your documents, which one touches you the most ?
(PF) : Undoubtedly,
Saint-Exupéry’s one, because we didn’t know this
part of the story . Before this discovery, the “Cellulairement”
document (“In Jail Style”), a collection written by Verlaine while he
was jailed in Bruxelles and Mons, after his quarrel with Rimbaud.
Tell me
about André Breton’s “Manifeste du Surréalisme” (Surrealism Manifesto)
(GL) : It was not
the first time we had been organizing a surrealism
exhibition, despite what certain people thought. We had already
presented a number of surrealism works in the years 2003-2004. Six
months before it was put for sale, I was alerted through the press that
the Manifesto, this monument, was going to be put on the market.
Together with our partners and investors, we mobilized because we
didn’t want the Manifesto to leave France. We definitely wanted to
enrich our collection. We were ready to go up to 3 to 3.5 million
euros, and this is what happened. This is a priceless document and we
were very happy and proud to buy it. It was immediately placed at
public’s disposal, only 3 days after we bought it. We are going to
create another event in February 2009 to talk about the Manifesto
again.
To
learn more about this museum:
Website
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