Billet autographe signé de Robert Schuman

Autograph letter signed by Robert Schuman to a lady, in black ink on a leaf with printed letterhead of the Assemblée nationale, accompanied by his visiting card.

Small crease to upper right corner of the visiting card.

"I hope that Mr Sauvage's matter will turn out well. As for Mr Jagoszewski, I am making enquiries. I do not know whether the Office has a position of this kind. I will inform you as soon as possible." (our own translation)

Between 1948 and 1953, Robert Schuman served as Foreign Minister. He left office following the formation of René Mayer's government, only weeks before writing this letter, dated 25 January 1953. Four days later, he made his first public statement after leaving the Quai d'Orsay: "Instability of men, but relative stability of programmes." The use of the adjective 'relative,' together with the phrases 'I hope,' 'I am making enquiries,' and 'I do not know' in the present letter, reflect the uncertain period he was now facing. At the start of the year, he had become, as René Lejeune so aptly puts it, an "'unnecessary servant' of a great cause, of which he would nonetheless remain the symbol."

Poignant autograph letter by Robert Schuman, architect of European integration, written in January 1953 after four and a half years as Foreign Minister.