Night Flight
Presentation copy inscribed by Saint-Exupéry in New York:
“Pour Mademoiselle Marcelle Boucher, en très amical souvenir, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.”
Written from Saint-Exupéry’s experiences directing Aeroposta Argentina, Night Flight established his international literary reputation. The novel won the Prix Femina in France and became an immediate American success.
Saint-Exupéry settled in New York in January 1941, where he wrote and published Flight to Arras and, soon afterwards, The Little Prince. The recipient of this copy, Marcelle Boucher, was associated with the French Institute–Alliance Française in New York, whose blue library stamp appears on the title page. Saint-Exupéry attended several events there in late 1942 and early 1943, shortly before leaving the United States.
A particularly evocative New York association copy, inscribed during Saint-Exupéry’s American exile.
Provenance: William Scherry, noted American Saint-Exupéry collector and founder of Remembering Saint-Exupéry; French Institute–Alliance Française Library, 22 East 60th Street, New York.