The Little Prince is the most translated and best-selling French book in the world. Considered one of the hundred best books of the 20th century by Le Monde, it tells the story of a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and tackles themes such as loneliness, loss, friendship, and love. This is copy number 212 out of the very rare edition of 525 numbered copies signed by the author, with a characteristic salmon-coloured cloth binding and illustrated dust jacket. The book is presented in a brown leather case with a black engraving of the little prince. In 1943, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was living in New York, a refugee from Occupied France, and the first editions of the work were published, both in French and English, in this North American city. The watercolour illustrations, fundamental to the work, were also by Saint-Exupéry. A year after the publication of The Little Prince, Saint-Exupéry disappeared during a reconnaissance flight over the Mediterranean, which made signed copies even scarcer.