Rare early letter from Louis-Ferdinand Céline in Cameroon. 1916.

Louis-Ferdinand DESTOUCHES , known as Louis-Ferdinand CÉLINE (1894-1961)

Autographed letter signed to his parents.

Two quarto pages on letterhead (trimmed) of the Sangha Oubangui Forestry Company.

Bikobimbo (Cameroon). September 30, 1916.

Unpublished letter to the Pléiade correspondence.

A very rare letter from the young Destouches, twenty-two years old. Entangled in his role as a plantation supervisor for the Sangha Oubangui Forestry Company in Cameroon, he asks his parents for Western goods and books. For nine months, Destouches experiences the hell of solitude in a foreign land and is filled with daily anxiety about the misunderstood locals. It is this Africa that he will recount in his * Journey to the End of the Night*. Far from the fighting, he nevertheless follows events at the front with a detached eye. He will be repatriated in the spring of 1917.

This letter appears to be a direct follow-up to a previous letter sent to his parents on the same September 30th.

_____________________________________________________

"Dear Parents, I'm sending my mail via a black mail carrier to Cribi – so that my letters get stamped. One last list of what I need.".

1 litre tincture of Iodine – with a very small brush (for stings).

From the dentist's email – I have a local dentist here.

1 large desk pad.

3 sizes of aluminum saucepans.

1 small thermometer.

1 filter (called a filter bottle)

A mermaid like the one in Ablon.

12 jars of orange marmalade (by Potin at 0.50 ^francs )

The Accuser by J. Claretie. Ask Mrs. Gini for more information.

How much would a Zeiss telescope with a strong enough focus, or any other less prismatic one ?

Lactic acid tablets.

Check with Chevassus for a good eye wash solution. Do it – for example – twice a week – not that I have anything wrong with it, but I'm a particularly fervent believer in these preventative treatments.

Another book besides Chevalier's on cocoa – and one on rubber.

I'll send 200f via Cribi if that's not enough – write to me.

Your son aff- L. of the keys. Great Plantation of Dipikar by Campo. Cam. AEF. 

One aluminum basin for washing. One tea set. A complete dinner service if possible – in a fairly elegant style