Is My The Little Prince a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Both the English (trans
• Katherine Woods) and the French (Le Petit Prince) first editions were published in New York by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943, the English a few days ahead of the French
• 93 numbered pages, small quarto, publisher's cloth with a stamped illustration to the front board, in a colour-printed pictorial jacket
• English issue points: the title-page imprint reads "Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc." with no mention of Harcourt, Brace (which took the book over later); the copyright notice is identical to the original and carries no edition or printing numbering beneath it; and a colophon paragraph is printed on the last page — its absence marks a later English printing
• Jacket point: the Fourth Avenue address for Reynal & Hitchcock on the front flap, with the price present at the flap; jackets giving a West 8th Street or 383 Madison Avenue address are later
• Dealers record the first English trade binding as salmon cloth with maroon lettering; blue cloth is a later binding

How Reynal & Hitchcock, New York marked a first edition

• Until 1947: NO first-edition statement on US-originated firsts; subsequent printings WERE noted on the copyright page, so the ABSENCE of any later-printing notice is the identifying point for a first. This is the only do…
• For books published after 1947, defer to Harcourt, Brace & Co. identification points, since R&H was absorbed by Harcourt in 1948 and later issues of R&H titles carry Harcourt imprints/points.

Full Reynal & Hitchcock, New York first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the American true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The census claim is confirmed in substance and tightened on dates. The New York Reynal & Hitchcock editions of April 1943 are the world firsts in BOTH languages — this is the rare case where the first edition of a French classic is an American book, and the English translation preceded the French original into print by a few days. Gallimard's Paris edition is NOT the first French-language edition: it was printed after the Liberation (achevé d'imprimer 30 November 1945) and released in April 1946, which is why it is variously dated 1945 and 1946 — the gap from New York is roughly two and a half years, not three. The Gallimard is a first-thus (first French-published) trap; its illustrations also differ in colour and shape from the 1943 New York plates, the Little Prince's cape having changed from green to blue. Both New York issues, English and French, are collected.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later English printings drop the rear colophon and, once Harcourt, Brace assumed publication, name Harcourt in the imprint. Jackets bearing the West 8th Street address (fifth English / sixth French printings) or 383 Madison Avenue (seventh French) are later states. Blue cloth on the English indicates a later binding. On the French side, absence of the page 63 raven mark places the copy at the sixth printing or later.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Little Prince a first edition?

A first edition of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Reynal & Hitchcock, New York) is identified by: Both the English (trans.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. The census claim is confirmed in substance and tightened on dates.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later English printings drop the rear colophon and, once Harcourt, Brace assumed publication, name Harcourt in the imprint. Jackets bearing the West 8th Street address (fifth English / sixth French printings) or 383 Madison Avenue (seventh French) are later states. Blue cloth on the English indicates a later binding. On the French side, absence of the page 63 raven mark places the copy at the sixth printing or later.

I have a first edition of The Little Prince — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.