A rare manuscript of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with numerous handwritten corrections by the author is up for sale for $1.25 million. This is one of only three known copies, and the first time a manuscript of a classic work has been put up for public sale. This was reported by The Guardian, according to UNN.
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It is noted that the artifact contains what is believed to be the first written appearance of the famous lines: “On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux,” which means: “Only the heart can see correctly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.
The edition also comes with two original pencil sketches, including a preliminary sketch of the book's final illustration of the prince returning home, and a check for $100 signed by Saint-Exupéry.
According to biographer Stacey Schiff, the check was written on February 26, 1943, to the Brooks Uniform Co. for the uniform he ordered. He wore this uniform when he visited his beloved Sylvia Hamilton's apartment for the last time before returning to the war. At that time, he left her the original manuscript of The Little Prince, which is now housed in the Morgan Library in New York.
The authors note that one of the other copies of the manuscript is kept at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas (USA), and the other at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. The version for sale is the only copy that Saint-Exupéry kept as his own working copy.
The publication will be presented at the annual Abu Dhabi Art fair in the capital of the United Arab Emirates in late November.
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