Courrier Sud
One of 697 copies on vélin pur fil (no. 321).
Presentation copy inscribed by Saint-Exupéry to J.-H. Rosny aîné: “À monsieur Rosny aîné. En hommage respectueux, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.”
A particularly significant association copy of Saint-Exupéry’s first book, presented to one of the leading figures of French literature and, at the time, President of the Académie Goncourt.
Drawing directly on Saint-Exupéry’s experiences as a pilot for Latécoère, the future Aéropostale, Courrier Sud (Southern Mail) transformed the dangerous pioneering flights between Toulouse and Dakar into literature. It already brings together the themes that would define his work: flight, solitude, friendship, duty and the vulnerability of human life.
Rosny aîné, author of La Guerre du feu and a pioneer of modern science fiction, had presided over the Académie Goncourt since 1926. The young Saint-Exupéry’s respectful presentation of his literary debut to the president of France’s most prestigious literary jury is especially resonant.