March 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, March 28th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/28/2019
Mata Hari autograph letter signed 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. With unusual emotional content, Mata Hari here stings at what seems to be a rebuke of her by van der Hem, laying bare her feelings. Dated 1 January (1915), she writes in French from the Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam, in full, ''My dear Piet, I understand very well when a woman forgives the lover that she depends on, but since I loved you only for who you are, I do not forgive you. I am too proud for that, and besides, I don't think reasonably when in love. I laugh at those women who write about bouquets of flowers and who talk about 'forgiveness' that they don't feel. / Come now, Piet. I have lived too long in Paris, and I know life. I also reason when the game has high stakes. And then, for my part, I take revenge, but here all that doesn't exist. / If this is how you have your fun, then all the better, and my best wishes / Marguerite''. Two page letter measures 8.5'' x 11'' on one sheet. Folds, two pinholes and minute foxing, overall very good plus condition with large, bold handwriting.
Superb Mata Hari Autograph Letter Signed, With Unusual Content to Her Lover -- ''...since I loved you only for who you are, I do not forgive you...I don't think reasonably when in love...''
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