SAINT-EXUPERY, ANTOINE DE.
Saint-Exupery has drawn four male figures, one of which bears a strong resemblance to this preliminary sketches for The Little Prince, on the blank back cover of the Sunday, July 30, 1939 dinner menu of the celebrated French Line ship Normandie. Approximately 10 x 14'; aside from a narrow tape stain along the side edges of the front cover, in excellent condition. This particular crossing remains famous for its record time of 3 days, 23 hours, and 2 minutes. During the passage, the ship was buzzed by Saint-Exupery's co-pilot and friend Guillaumet (with whom he had flown on a trans-Atlantic round-trip earlier in the month). The author traveled to New York at the request of his American publisher, Reynal & Hitchcock, to promote the American edition of Terres des Hommes (Wind, Sand and Stars), but imminent war in Europe cut his trip short, returning to France only a week before the declaration of war. All books described as first editions are first printings unless otherwise noted.