May 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, May 30th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/30/2019
Mata Hari autograph letter to her lover, the young and then unknown artist Piet van der Hem (whose portrait of Mata Hari hangs in the Fries Museum), with intriguing content describing the Dutch vs. French reaction to her dancing, and the ''angry journalists'' who called out a faux pas she made while dancing. Dated only ''Saturday evening'', 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 Dutch, letter translates in part, ''...Yesterday I danced in Arnhem with great success, but the audience is very aristocratic there and loves those serious, graceful dances. Here is different. They are people who have never seen anything. They all think ugly things come from abroad. Fortunately for me, I dance here out of amusement and to maintain suppleness. I am not looking for money here and also don't have to make a name for myself. When you have Paris and Vienna etc. like me, then the Dutch can not do me much harm. / And then, people are so jealous here, and so angry - in Arnhem that is completely different. / I dance again Sunday in The Hague and Tuesday in Amsterdam. / Yes. I had a faux pas in The Hague. The carpet was laid very nice over a hole, in which the decor is usually fixed. And I just put my foot on it. It was a 'second' but the angry journalists took it as true to write about. Foul people. Go away! / I had a lot of flowers from my known and unknown friends...'' Unsigned with last page missing, letter runs four pages on card-style bifolium stationery measuring 5.5'' x 8.5'' as folded. Some foxing and small moisture spot, 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 to Her Lover, Piet van der Hem -- ''...When you have Paris and Vienna etc. like me, then the Dutch can not do me much harm...''
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