Bibliographic Description
First Edition: Publication Information |
The original 1943 edition of The Little Prince was published by Reynal & Hitchcock in New York City. According to Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry's book The Tale of the Rose, the first printing in New York City included both French and English first edition copies, while the first edition published in France was published by Gallimard in 1945 (293). It was originally translated from the French by Katherine Woods (Saint-Exupéry).
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Cover materialCover artPagination |
The first edition of The Little Prince was cloth-bound.
The dust jacket cover art of the first edition is shown above.
[vii], 1-91, [3]
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Introduction/ Dedication |
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry included a dedication to Leon Werth at the beginning of The Little Prince. It is transcribed as such:
To Leon Werth Léon Werth was, as made known above, Saint-Exupéry's closest friend. Werth was an essayist and novelist who served in WWI and quickly became outspoken on the subjects of war and politics. However, according to Stacy Schiff's biography of Saint-Exupéry, the two men had little in common. This was likely the reason why they connected so well after meeting each other: they were able to exchange ideas and pick the other's brain (229). Werth had similar sentiments [to being close friends] about Saint-Exupéry after his disappearance, saying: "Peace, without Tonio, isn't entirely peace" (230).
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Illustrations |
The illustrations are watercolors on Fidelity Onion Skin paper, created by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry himself. There are 43 pages with illustrations, which are scattered throughout the entirety of the book (Pierpont Morgan Library). A sample illustration, page 15 of the first edition, can be viewed at the right. Additionally, some illustrations are merely outlines (single color) while others are full-color illustrations (Saint-Exupéry).
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Size of Cover |
23 cm x 18.5 cm
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Size of Text |
The letters have a height of 0.2 cm. Tall or long letters, such as capitalized letters or the letters l, f, t, h, p, etc. are 0.3 cm.
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General physical appearance of book |
The original editions of The Little Prince are set in the seriffed font Linotype Granjon. As is commonly said, serif fonts are easier to read in printed works, making the text more readable and easier for the brain to follow (Better Writing Skills, 2012). It was printed by offset lithography, a common printing technique in which the printed material is not printed directly onto the page, but is printed onto separate flat plates, which are then applied to the paper (wiseGeek).
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Sample Page |
Strangely enough, the margins differ depending on whether the page is recto or verso. Therefore, the margin widths I list will first be those of the verso (left-hand page), and then those of the recto (right-hand page), listed as *** cm, *** cm.
The top margin from the edge of the page to the top of the text is 2.3 cm, 2.1 cm. The right margin is 2.0 cm, 3.0 cm. The left margin is 3.0 cm, 2.0 cm. The bottom margin from the bottom of the page to the bottom of the page number is 3.8 cm, 4.0 cm. The bottom margin from the bottom of the page to the bottom of the text block is 4.4 cm, 4.6 cm. The size of the text block varies by page, depending on whether illustrations are present and the size of said illustrations. On a page with no illustrations, the width of the text block is 12.6 cm. The amount of space between lines of text is 0.4 cm. When tall and long characters are present, the space between lines varies between 0.2 cm and 0.3 cm. The image shown to the right is that of page 67 in the first English edition of The Little Prince. |
Paper |
The paper used in the first edition is thick, despite being able to see the illustrations through the page, as witnessed in the above pictures, and has held up well over time. Many other examples, such as the book showcased in this gallery (http://uknet.com/gallery2/lorry/Little-Prince/), have not had as much luck holding up over time, as far as the dust jacket is concerned. The book that is pictured above is owned by the University of Illinois Library system and is held in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. This is the most likely explanation as to why the book is in such good condition, compared to copies that are still circulating and changing hands frequently.
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Binding |
According to "Cover colors in the English language versions," three fabric colors (including text color on cover) were used for the first edition, first printings in the United States: salmon (reddish brown) and dark yellow green (black). The second printings were dark yellow-green (black), pale powder blue (Prussian blue), and peach (reddish brown). The third printings were dark yellow-green (black), pale powder blue (Prussian blue), and teal green/neptune (black). The fourth printings were chartreuse green (black), dark yellow-green (black), and teal green/neptune (black). The fifth printings were chartreuse green (black) and green froth (black). The sixth printings (and many further printings) were pale apricot (maroon or burnt sienna).
The copy held at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is a first edition copy, sixth printing, as it has a pale apricot cover with maroon type. The cover has an outline image of the little prince. The text on the cover is "The Little Prince." The text on the spine is "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Little Prince Reynal & Hitchcock" |
Title Page
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Title Page: The Little Prince / Written and Drawn by / Antoine de Saint-Exupéry / Translated from the French by Katherine Woods / Reynal & Hitchcock • New York
Title Page Verso: By the Author of / Night Flight / Wind, Sand and Stars / Flight to Arras / / Copyright, 1943, by Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc. / All right reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form / Printed in the United States of America / Sixth printing The top picture at the right is of the title page. The bottom picture at the right is of the title page verso. |
Other features |
I was unable to find a copy with a dust jacket intact. Very few first-edition copies still have dust jackets (either worn or in good condition) and those that have a dust jacket intact cost a pretty penny. Several copies of The Little Prince with intact dust jackets are currently available through AbeBooks.
Although the copy I was able to physically hold did not contain the following note, many other copies did. "Five hundred and twenty-five copies of the first edition of / THE LITTLE PRINCE / have been autographed by the author, of which / five hundred are for sale. This is / copy number [insert number here]" followed by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's signature was an inscription in 500 first edition copies English copies and 250 first edition French copies. The picture shown below is an order form for The Little Prince from Brentano's, a New York City bookseller ("Brentano's leaflet"). A five-lines colophon was included in the first edition copies, first printing through the sixth printing. It is shown as follows:
The copy held at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library has a personal inscription from Carl Sandburg to some friends. It reads as follows:
For Mr. and Mrs. Harry [Bonzi] Pratt |
Manuscript Holdings |
The original manuscript (with written corrections and notes) is held at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan, New York City. It is located in the Pierpont Morgan Library Department of Literary and Historical Manuscripts collection. The previous owner was Silvia Reinhardt. The detailed record can be found at http://corsair.themorgan.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=131761.
In April 2012, two extra never-before-seen (and unpublished) manuscript pages were found and auctioned off in May at a price of 385,587 Euros (approx. $490,822) after being expected to only fetch 40,000 to 50,000 Euros. In these two pages, the little prince comes across a man who has been stuck on one crossword clue for several days ("a six-letter word that starts with G that means 'gargling'"). Manuscript expert Oliver Devers believes that the answer to the crossword clue, "guerre" (the French word for "war"), is a reference to Saint-Exupéry's anti-war sentiments. It is believed that these pages were left out so as not to turn away possible readers due to political and/or social issues (Le 2012). The differing and never-before-seen manuscript pages can be viewed in their entirety at http://www.artcurial.com/en/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2130+++++384+&refno=10383852, in addition to a full translation of the unpublished pages ("Lot 384"). |
Resources:
- "Brentano's leaflet." Rassemblement du Petit Prince. 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 4 Dec. 2012
- "Cover colors in the English language version." Rassemblement du Petit Prince. 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
- "Detailed Record: Le Petit Prince: autograph manuscript." Corsair: the online catalog of the Pierpont Morgan Library. Pierpont Morgan Library. 1968. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. <http://corsair.themorgan.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=131761>.
- Le, Minh. "'The Little Prince,' secret pacifist: unpublished pages shed light on Saint-Exupéry's true intentions." New York Daily News. NY Daily News, 16 May 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012.
- "Lot 384." Books and Manuscripts. Artcurial, 16 May 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
- Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de. The Little Prince. Trans. Katherine Woods. New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1943. Print.
- "What is Offset Lithography?" WiseGeek. Conjecture Corporation, 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-offset-lithography.htm>.
This website was created by Kristin Unruh as a project for LIS514A: History of Children's Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Fall 2012 Semester.