History & Society
In 1938, a 22-year-old François Mitterrand pens a deeply emotional letter to his fiancée, Marie-Louise Terrasse. Long before his presidency, we glimpse the tender, impatient heart of the man who would later shape modern France.
History & Society
In the 1960s, Che Guevara embodied his vision of the “new socialist man” by doing volunteer labor in Cuba. These rare photos, found in a private album, show him working alongside others, an example of his belief in solidarity and selfless action.
History & Society
A rare 1893 prison letter by Charles Baïhaut, the only French official to confess in the Panama Canal corruption scandal. He defends his actions, denounces selective justice, and offers a unique firsthand view of one of France’s earliest political-financial crises.
History & Society
In a 1995 letter from Brazil, fugitive Ronnie Biggs candidly reflects on his role in the Great Train Robbery, admitting it was driven by greed. Stripped of bravado, his words reveal regret and offer a rare, personal glimpse into a notorious life lived in exile.
History & Society
In 1850, Auguste-François Perrinon, a Black French abolitionist, penned a powerful plea celebrating freedom and denouncing slavery’s roots in ignorance and violence. His manuscript reflects the enduring fight for dignity and justice in post-abolition France.
History & Society
Through 39 wartime letters to his sister, Captain Léon Rohlfs de Sussex shares his descent from Saint-Cyr cadet to a wounded, weary soul in the trenches of Verdun. His final note, written in pain, becomes a haunting witness to the human cost of World War I.
History & Society
On June 18, 1940, Charles de Gaulle’s BBC broadcast from London launched the French Resistance. His handwritten draft, now preserved in the National Archives, stands as a powerful symbol of courage and defiance in France’s darkest hour.