The Little Prince

First edition of the English translation, published 15 days before the original French edition. One of 525 numbered copies signed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the only deluxe paper copies and the very first issue of Saint-Exupéry's allegorical masterpiece, the most translated work after the Bible.
Publisher's binding in full brick-colored cloth, smooth spine, with the first issue dust jacket for the trade edition, at the correct address and with the price unclipped, showing a few discreet restorations.
Printed ex-libris at the head of the first flyleaf.
Illustrated with drawings by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

A universal tale, this ode to travel, friendship, and childhood was from the outset considered a roman à clef, offering a profound reflection on the tragic contemporary events under the guise of a children's story and revealing a more complex philosophy in its author than his critics had acknowledged.
While the precise origins of this character remain unclear – inspired perhaps by Andersen's tales read by actress Annabella, a watercolor box gifted by director René Clair, an idea from his editor Elisabeth Reynal, or simply the memory of his lost brother – the writing of the tale itself was deeply influenced by war, exile, and Saint-Exupéry's difficult relations with the Resistance authorities.
Demobilized in 1940, the writer celebrated in 1939 for Wind, Sand and Stars sought refuge in New York, where he wrote and published Flight to Arras in February 1942, aimed at rallying American public opinion to the bravery of French soldiers despite their inevitable defeat. Deemed too pro-Semitic by some and too defeatist by others, this work, quickly banned in France, earned him the animosity of both Pétainists and Gaullists, leaving him inactive as North Africa's recapture by the Allies opened prospects for renewed armed struggle.
Despite an intense social and romantic life, it was in deep solitude and a sense of misunderstanding that Saint-Exupéry composed The Little Prince in 1942 for his New York publishers, Reynal & Hitchcock, who had recently published Mary Poppins.
In late 1942, he further provoked animosity by broadcasting and publishing his "Letter to the French," calling for unity among French people at home and abroad against Nazism. His appeal for reconciliation and an uncompromising fight against a common enemy, his refusal to judge the choices of oppressed individuals, and his implicit criticism of power struggles among fighters drew severe criticism, including from Charles de Gaulle's partisans, who were in rivalry with General Giraud's faction.
Judged excessively tolerant, this broadcast sparked strong accusations, including from Jacques Maritain, a philosopher and theologian dear to Saint-Exupéry. These harsh criticisms obscured the deep connection between this appeal to adults and the tale for children that would appear months later.
Forced into exile far from his homeland « lost somewhere in the night, all lights extinguished, like a ship », Saint-Exupéry expressed his anguish over the state of France and the futility of human divisions, questions embodied in The Little Prince, his last and most significant book. This "little book written only for friends who can understand it" carries echoes of his manifesto, evident in the wisdom of the Fox: « language is the source of misunderstandings », mirroring the author’s sentiment: « language is an imperfect instrument ».
Inspired by a childlike figure Saint-Exupéry sketched in the margins of his letters and notebooks, initially a self-portrait, The Little Prince is both a poetic fable and a philosophical testament. In this context, the death of the story’s child hero, which Saint-Exupéry refused to omit despite his editors' protests, reflects his own relentless drive toward a heroic yet absurd end.
Since his arrival in the United States, Saint-Exupéry's sole preoccupation had been to rejoin his former unit, the Groupe 2-33, immortalized in Flight to Arras. In February 1943, despite his age, health issues, and opposition from Gaullists, he was finally mobilized into the Free French Air Forces formed after the Americans liberated North Africa. In early April, around the 12th or 13th, he departed for Algiers, never to return to America.
It was then that the destinies of the book and its author diverged irrevocably.
The Little Prince, initially planned for simultaneous publication in French and English translation by the publishers, was ultimately released first in English on April 6, 1943.
Saint-Exupéry witnessed only this English publication before leaving American soil for the last time, carrying with him just a proof copy of the forthcoming French version. He left no other manuscript trace of this pivotal work besides the 785 signed justification sheets inserted into the English and French deluxe editions and a few rare dedications (today, only three are known on The Little Prince and two on Le Petit Prince).
A rare and precious deluxe copy of this translation, published ahead of the original French edition of what remains today the most translated work after the Bible.