Jean-Paul Sartre Mailing Envelope Addressed to Belgian Novelist Madeleine Bourdouxhe — Sent from the Paris Airport
Jean-Paul Sartre (1904-1980), the existentialist philosopher, playwright, and novelist who remains one of the defining intellectual figures of the 20th century, addressed this envelope in his own hand to "Mme M. Bourdouxhe / 47 rue Lebeau / Bruxelles I (Belgique)," writing his name "Sartre" boldly in black ink at the upper left as the return sender. The envelope bears two French Republic 0.30 franc stamps and the distinctive oval postmark of the "Aeroport de Paris / Carrefour du Monde," suggesting Sartre dispatched this letter while passing through Paris's airport.
The recipient, Madeleine Bourdouxhe (1906-1996), was the Belgian novelist and author of "La Femme de Gilles" (1937), a writer whose work moved in the same intellectual and literary circles as Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. A Sartre-addressed envelope to a named literary figure, postmarked from the Paris airport, is a document with real biographical texture: spare, purposeful, and unmistakably his.
Mailing envelope, black ink sender inscription "Sartre" at upper left, typed address to Mme M. Bourdouxhe, two French 0.30 franc stamps, "Aeroport de Paris / Carrefour du Monde" postmark, approximately 6.5 x 4.5 inches (IMG_271.jpg). Envelope opened at top with some tearing; overall good to very good condition. Estimate: $800-$1,400.
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