The Little Prince, published more than 70 years ago, has been translated into hundreds of languages and dialects and is one of the best selling books worldwide.
Keystone / Francois Mori
A treasure trove of sketches from the French author and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who wrote the classic book The Little Prince, have been found in a house in the northeastern Swiss city of Winterthur, claims an art foundation.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/mga
Español
es
Bocetos de ‘El principito’ hallados en una casa suiza
One of the sketches shows the boa constrictor that swallowed an elephant but looks like a hat in the eyes of an adult. Colour sketches were also found of the little prince with the fox and of the drunkard whom the little prince visits on his planet, plus a love letter from Saint-Exupéry to his wife.
Published in 1943, the book has been translated into multiple languages and has sold tens of millions of copies. It is the story of an interstellar traveller who arrives on Earth in search of friendship and understanding.
The drawings were bought in an auction in the 1980s by art collector Bruno Stefanini, who set up the Foundation for Art, Culture and HistoryExternal link in Winterthur, and died last December. They lay unnoticed in his house until being recently discovered amid a pile of autographs from historical figures.
The foundation describes them as being in “surprisingly good condition”, although they are not dated. It has yet to decide whether they will go on public display but plans to show them to the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, which houses sketches and the original manuscript for the book.
Popular Stories
More
Identities
Switzerland’s most renowned trans person no longer wants to be a woman
This content was published on
Switzerland’s finance minister concerned about economic slump recorded by important trading partners, the EU and Germany.
Report finds serious security flaws in Swiss hospital information systems
This content was published on
The IT systems of several Swiss hospitals suffer from serious security flaws, according to the National Testing Institute for Cybersecurity (NTC).
Cost of leisure activities rises dramatically in Switzerland
This content was published on
The Swiss paid more for leisure activities in December. Prices for vacation apartments, package tours and cable cars rose significantly.
New Swiss epidemic surveillance centre inaugurated
This content was published on
The Centre for Pathogen Bioinformatics was inaugurated in Bern on Thursday. It aims to improve epidemics monitoring in Switzerland using genomic data.
This content was published on
Switzerland, as a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), signed a free trade agreement with Thailand during WEF.
This content was published on
The federal audit office has criticised the Swiss government for poor planning of the procurement of six drones from an Israeli supplier.
Richard Scarry: the best children’s illustrator … ever
This content was published on
Boston-born Richard Scarry loved Switzerland’s lakes and mountains so much he bought a chalet in Gstaad and spent his last 25 years living and working there.
Why Swiss celebrate children’s classic that’s not Heidi
This content was published on
A Bell for Ursli can be read in English, Japanese and Afrikaans alongside its original language, Romansh. Despite – or because of – its popularity, the book’s illustrator, Alois Carigiet, sought recognition as a serious painter.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.