The crash and survival in the desert of the aviator Saint-Exupéry and his navigator was an intense experience. The autograph manuscript of his heart felt narration was sold for € 310K including premium by Sotheby's on June 17, 2009, lot 80.
It had been told at that time that the document had been retained by his heirs and was sold for the benefit of foundations in his memory.
It is now estimated € 180K for sale by OVA Aristophil operated by Artcurial in Paris Hôtel Drouot on June 16, lot 81.
I discussed it as follows in 2009 :
The pioneers of aviation were permanently facing death but they never stopped to carry on their great work of reducing travel time and conciliating the nations. One of them, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, translated in his writings the exalted humanism and poetry of that life of useful adventure.
In 1935 he had already published two stories that met a great success, "Courrier Sud" (Southern Mail) and "Vol de Nuit" (Night Flight). With the mechanic Prévot, he is now trying to break the record of André Japy, author of a Paris-Saigon in three days and fifteen hours.
Their plane crashed in the Libyan desert. Alone and without food for four days, they were rescued by a Bedouin, just in time as they had already begun to suffer hallucinations.
A few weeks later, from 30 January to 4 February 1936, the Parisian daily newspaper L'Intransigeant published the story of this adventure by Saint-Exupéry as "le Vol brisé - Prison de sable" (Shattered Flight - Prison of Sand).
The manuscript for sale which is titled Au centre du désert is the final draft for L'Intransigeant. It consists of 57 folios handwritten on one side and abundantly revised and corrected.
This text is highly important in the literary work of Saint-Exupéry : after rework it went to be the central chapter of his "Terre des Hommes" (Wind, Sand and Stars) (1939). His terrible experience in the desert later inspired him "Le Petit Prince" (The Little Prince) (1943).
unsold
It had been told at that time that the document had been retained by his heirs and was sold for the benefit of foundations in his memory.
It is now estimated € 180K for sale by OVA Aristophil operated by Artcurial in Paris Hôtel Drouot on June 16, lot 81.
I discussed it as follows in 2009 :
The pioneers of aviation were permanently facing death but they never stopped to carry on their great work of reducing travel time and conciliating the nations. One of them, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, translated in his writings the exalted humanism and poetry of that life of useful adventure.
In 1935 he had already published two stories that met a great success, "Courrier Sud" (Southern Mail) and "Vol de Nuit" (Night Flight). With the mechanic Prévot, he is now trying to break the record of André Japy, author of a Paris-Saigon in three days and fifteen hours.
Their plane crashed in the Libyan desert. Alone and without food for four days, they were rescued by a Bedouin, just in time as they had already begun to suffer hallucinations.
A few weeks later, from 30 January to 4 February 1936, the Parisian daily newspaper L'Intransigeant published the story of this adventure by Saint-Exupéry as "le Vol brisé - Prison de sable" (Shattered Flight - Prison of Sand).
The manuscript for sale which is titled Au centre du désert is the final draft for L'Intransigeant. It consists of 57 folios handwritten on one side and abundantly revised and corrected.
This text is highly important in the literary work of Saint-Exupéry : after rework it went to be the central chapter of his "Terre des Hommes" (Wind, Sand and Stars) (1939). His terrible experience in the desert later inspired him "Le Petit Prince" (The Little Prince) (1943).
unsold
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