A first American edition, one of a kind presentation issue of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince will auction at Christie's New York on June 19.
The book, which carries an estimate of $100,000-150,000 is inscribed: "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.
 The Little Prince has sold over 140m copies around the world |
"For example, Dorothy Barclay...With fondest remembrance Antoine de Saint-Exupery."
It was given to Barclay, an assistant to the New York Times, as a gift by Saint-Exupery in 1943.
He had asked a reporter friend to find out the number of stars visible from Earth.
The reporter passed the job to Barclay, who called the local planetarium.
To thank her, the author presented her with the signed book - of which only a handful are known to exist.
Exupery-Saint was drafted into the Free French Air Force in 1943, just as the book was published, and was killed in action the following year.
A copy of Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War carries an identical estimate.
Last year another copy of the book, which contains photographs that document the US civil war, made $192,000 at Skinner in Boston.
We have a fascinating selection of rare books and manuscripts available.
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