Courrier sud

First edition, one of 697 numbered copies on pur fil paper.
Precious autograph inscription signed by the author to Geneviève Stewens, wife of Christian Sarton du Jonchay.
Son of Charles Sarton du Jonchay, then garrisoned in Algeria, Christian Sarton du Jonchay enlisted at fourteen in the Algerian Auxiliary Spahis Regiment commanded by his father. After numerous adventures, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre and became, at only fifteen, the youngest quartermaster sergeant in France. After serving in various cavalry regiments and chasseur battalions, he was wounded in July 1918 and ended the war with seven citations, as lieutenant and knight of the Legion of Honor. At the end of the First World War, he chose to continue his military career and volunteered, in 1921, to serve during the Syrian Campaign, again earning several distinctions. A serious shoulder wound that left him partially disabled forced him to turn to aviation, first as an observer, then obtaining his pilot's license on August 17, 1927. After an assignment to the 2^nd Aviation Regiment in Strasbourg, he joined the New Aircraft Group, precursor to the CEMA aerial equipment testing center, as commander of the Light Aircraft Section. However, after failing at the War College, he retired in 1933. Du Jonchay then joined Caudron-Renault, the aviation subsidiary of the major automobile company. He became, with his American wife Gene - dedicatee of this copy - a figure in the fashionable society revolving around aviation.
Fine copy.