Signed first French edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Le Petit Prince published by Reynal & Hitchcock of New York in 1943, $15,100 (£11,250) at Conneticut River Book Auction.
This first French edition issued by Reynal & Hitchcock of New York in 1943 was number 6 in a special additional run of 10 signed copies.
Saint-Exupery’s masterpiece (today the best-selling French language book of all time) was not published in France by Gallimard until the end of the German occupation. Instead, it was printed in New York (where the author was stationed), with the French edition issued simultaneously with the English translation done by Katherine Woods (1886-1968).
Signed first French edition of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Le Petit Prince published by Reynal & Hitchcock of New York in 1943, $15,100 (£11,250) at Conneticut River Book Auction.
The first print run ran to 525 copies of the English translation and 260 copies of the French language edition. Each was signed by the author and numbered to both the title page and the foot of the jacket.
However, as noted in French to the title pages, this copy was part of an additional run of 10 copies produced at the same time.
Tom Gullotta, who operates Connecticut River Book Auction in Glastonbury to raise money for state-based charities, said it was in outstanding condition. The book hammered at $15,100 (£11,250) to a US rare book dealer.
A year after the book’s publication in late July 1944, Saint-Exupery disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission for his French air squadron, making all signed copies particularly desirable.
