The Little Prince Book History

Apr 29, 2015 | Videos

The Film – Next month a brand new animated film of The Little Prince will be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Little Prince is one of the best-selling books ever published with 2 million copies being sold annually and over 140 million copies having been sold in total. It is also claimed to be the most well-read book in the world and it was voted the best book of the 20th century in France.

The Book – Peter Harrington, the UK’s largest rare book seller and one of the leading rare book sellers in the world, have a unique first edition, presentation copy of The Little Prince in English with double inscriptions in French and an original half-page drawing of the Little Prince by the author, Antoine de Saint- Exupéry.

the little prince book
The Book’s History – This book has a fascinating history and was published in New York in April 1943, simultaneously in French and in English. Saint- Exupéry, a pilot, was part of the Free French Air Force but was living in New York during the Nazi occupation of France. When writing the book he asked a friend “how many stars can be seen from planet Earth?” and she asked Dorothy Barclay to find out. Dorothy phoned the Hayden Planetarium and gave Saint-Exupéry an answer which is used in Chapter 13 of the book. Saint- Exupéry was so grateful to Dorothy he inscribed this copy of the book to her and drew a full page drawing depicting the Little Prince looking very sullen to have landed on planet Earth. In a speech bubble the Prince remarks “You’d have to be completely crazy to have chosen this planet. It is only pleasant at night when the inhabitants are asleep…”. Beneath, Saint-Exupéry wonderfully contradicts his own character’s misanthropy: “The Little Prince was wrong. There are on earth some inhabitants whose straightforwardness, sweetness, and generosity of heart make up for the avarice and egotism of the others. For example, Dorothy Barclay … With fondest remembrance Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.”

After the book was published Saint- Exupéry almost immediately left New York and not long after died fighting for the Free French Air Force in 1944 so he had very little time to inscribe many copies. Presentation copies are rare, and this, with a full page picture, moving inscription, and a wonderful back-story must be one of the very best.

Expert’s Opinion – Sammy Jay at Peter Harrington says “This is the finest copy Peter Harrington have ever encountered. It is much more than just a first edition as it is inscribed with an original drawing.” Sammy was so enamored with the book that he has made a short video about it which can be seen above.

Viewings – This book is available for inspection at Peter Harrington, 100 Fulham Rd, London, SW3 and is for sale for £150,000. Peter Harrington also have another good copy of the first edition of The Little Prince, finely bound by their own Chelsea Bindery, which is for sale for £1,875 as well as other books by Antoine de Saint- Exupéry.

 

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