TROTSKY LEON: (1879-1940) Russian Marxist Revolutionary. Founder and first Leader of the Red Army. Assassinated. Very rare A.L.S., `Leon´, one page, small 8vo, Pachuca, Mexico, 8th July 1937, to Frida Kahlo, in French. Trotsky, deported from Norway, landed in Mexico only six months before the present letter was written, in January 1937, when he and his wife were hosted by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in their own home. Shortly after and seduced by Kahlo´s charms, they had an affair, as the present letter demonstrates, Trotsky annotating at the base `Je t´……….´, being the starting letters of `Je t´aime´ (`I love you´). Trotsky states `Je n´ai pas réussi à envoyer hier la carte postale ; je la met dans l´enveloppe parce que je suis obligé d´envoyer les lettres par l´intermédiaire de l´administration de M. Gomez( ?) et ma carte postale parrait être comprise comme une ``plainte´´. Mes saluts les plus chaleureux´ (`I did not manage to send the postcard yesterday; I put it in the envelope because I am obliged to send the letters through the administration of Mr. Gomez(?) and my postcard seems to be understood as a ``complaint''. My warmest greetings´) With blank integral leaf. Accompanied by the original envelope, postmarked and stamped in Mexico. Small overall age wear with a vertical crease, otherwise G    

 

Trotsky was exiled to Kazakhstan in January 1928, and was later expelled from the Soviet Union to Turkey in February 1929, accompanied by his wife Natalia Sedova and their eldest son, Lev. He made requests to enter Belgium, France, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom, but all refused access. In July 1933, Trotsky was offered asylum in France although he was forbidden to live in Paris and found himself under the surveillance of the French police. In February 1934 a decree was issued to deport Trotsky from France. Trotsky would then be admitted in Norway where he lived from 1935 to 1936. Almost all Trotskyists who were still within the Soviet Union's borders were executed in the Great Purges of 1936-1938. In December 1936, Trotsky and his wife were deported from Norway after spending the last four months under house arrest, at a farm distant from Oslo, harshly treated and forced to stay indoors for 22 hours per days and under the constant guard of thirteen policemen. Deported by the Norwegian authorities, Trotsky arrived to Mexico in January 1937.

From January 1937 to April 1939, Trotsky and his wife lived in the Coyoacan area of Mexico City, at La Casa Azul (The Blue House), the home of the painter Diego Rivera and his wife and fellow painter, Frida Kahlo, with whom Trotsky had an affair. His final move was a few blocks away to a residence on Avenida Viena in April 1939, following a break with Rivera.

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Magdalena Frida Kahlo y Calderón. Mexican surrealist Painter, known for her self-portraits and naive folk Mexican art. Kahlo married Mexican artist Diego Rivera, and is regarded as an icon for feminism movements.

Diego Rivera (1886-1957) Mexican Painter, husband of Frida Kahlo.