Beschreibung:

Five autograph letters signed ("Jackie") to her mother, 24 pp in total, various sizes and papers, Grenoble, Beau Vallon, on board the RMS Queen Elizabeth, and Paris, 1949-1951, three written during her study-abroad year in France, 1949-1950, two from Grenoble, and two more written during her One Special Summer trip with her sister Lee, 1951, including original transmittal envelopes addressed to "Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss", tears to fold of one letter, folded; WITH: six original photographs, annotated by Jackie to the verso, of her time in Europe, 1949-1950. Provenance: Mrs. Eliza Sullivan. LETTERS HOME FROM YOUNG JACKIE'S EUROPEAN SOJOURN. In Fall 1949, Jackie left for France to attend the University of Grenoble and then the Sorbonne, and her letters home reflect a young woman exploring a new world, new friends, and of course romance. In the earliest letter, she discusses her halting French, boys, and dancing, and offers a glimpse of her approach to learning the new language, "Going out with French boys is really the best thing Mummy! I just talk my head off + feel that I've made so much progress when the evenings over – as at the maison we always talk about the same things at meals." Possibly the joke was lost in the translation, as a week later she begins, "I really don't think any of us – Merv, Judith or I have behaved like bobby soxers gone wild – I really do feel that we have a position to uphold as Americans and I haven't done one thing that I am ashamed of," and she continues to discuss dating, French mores and attitudes, assuring her mother, "If we go out to an idyllic little restaurant in the country + have a bottle of wine – because they don't have Coca Cola here – it doesn't go very far between 8 people." The following summer, she writes rhapsodically of her days in Beau Vallon, "All we have done for 2 days is eat + sleep + swim + sunbathe... it is such a perfect life... we eat on the terrace + at night the Luart's sometimes have friends – sunburned Frenchmen roaring up in Delahayes + you always wear shorts + you drink the good Provencal wine by candlelight + it is so unspoiled + so much better way to spend the summer than cocktails and dances all the time." Indeed, she enjoyed her time in Paris immensely, so much so that the following summer her sister Lee accompanied her again, a trip they document in their delightful book, One Special Summer (New York, 1974). The first letter from the two is penned aboard the RMS "Queen Elizabeth," and brims with the excitement that accompanied the trip, "You should see us sneaking into 1st class – getting stuck on the gate in our tight dresses," and includes a delightful sketch of Lee and Jackie dancing with two boys, as Lee jealously eyes Jackie's partner. In the final letter, she writes of seeing Verdi's Othello in Salzburg, and being taken back stage to meet Furtwangler, before going to see Stowkowski the following evening, as well as her new haircut ("...had it ALL cut off... at least you won't have to tell me to keep it out of my eyes"). All five of the letters convey the joy and delight of a young American lady in Europe, and capture two formative experiences in her life – the freedom of her first time alone in Europe and the thrill of "this whole dream trip" with Lee.