ALS in French, signed “J. P. Sartre,” two pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.25 x 8.25, Grand Bar de la Poste letterhead, no date but annotated in pencil July 20, 1937. Letter to French theatre actress Wanda Kosakiewicz, written during a shopping expedition where Sartre was buying provisions. He assures Wanda that he is fond of her, promises her a much longer letter, and asks her to thank her sister for the chocolate. In part (translated): "We buy tomatoes, canned goods, oil, vinegar, tobacco, soap, that I know and in ten minutes we leave, we will settle on the bridge. I want you to know that I know how much I care about you—as strong as if you were there. I'll write you a huge letter on the boat—if I'm not sick, I'll start it this afternoon and finish it Friday by working there every day…I'm happy for you because you will see your sister soon. She will probably be there when the letter arrives. Tell her that the little jars of chocolate were very good and that the Castor [Simone de Beauvoir] ate hers with a lot of pleasure. I ate mine tonight in Lyon…Do not send your letters by plane. It seems that they are lost. By the boat they take eight days. Write me often. I salute you." In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in Sartre's own hand. Kosakiewicz was a love interest of Sartre and the younger sister of Olga Kosakiewicz, a student of the existentialist philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre's lifelong companion. Sartre's nickname for Beauvoir was 'Castor'—the French word for beaver, due to the phonetic similarity.
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