January 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, January 31st, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/31/2019
Autograph letter signed by Mata Hari, arguably the most famous spy of the 20th century. Mata Hari writes to her lover, the young and then unknown artist Piet van der Hem (whose portrait of Mata Hari hangs in the Fries Museum), an unusual pairing for the femme fatale, known for her alliances with wealthy and aristocratic men. Though undated, letter is likely from late 1914, during World War I but before Mata Hari was recruited by the French to spy on Germany. She writes from the Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam, where she lived in WWI-neutral Holland after fleeing Berlin at the start of the war. Written in French, letter translates, ''My dear Piet / Very busy. I have to go to The Hague again later. I'm going home tonight at 6 or 7 pm - I'll dine in a hurry in my room. Want to come and talk to me a little at 9 pm? We can take a whisky soda somewhere. Kisses / your / Marquerite''. Letter runs two pages on one sheet of stationery measuring 8.5'' x 11''. Folds and some foxing, overall in very good condition. Letter come from the estate of van der Hem's lawyer, to whom it was given as payment for legal services.
Mata Hari Autograph Letter Signed to Her Lover, Piet van der Hem -- ''...Want to come and talk to me a little at 9 pm?...''
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