Antoine de Saint-Exupéry / Pierre-Eugène Clairin - Courrier du Sud - 1960

Superb illustrated edition of this debut novel by the author, which inaugurates this literary work in 1929.

Inspired by his experience as an Aéropostale pilot, Saint-Exupéry recounts the lives of the aviators responsible for transporting airmail between Toulouse, Spain, and South America, in a context where the conquest of airline routes was still a perilous adventure.

The story features Jacques Bernis, a solitary and melancholic pilot, whose flights become both physical trials and existential meditations.

Through descriptions of landscapes, the dangers of night flying, and the hero's inner reflections, the work unfolds a lyrical and serious aesthetic, where aviation is transfigured into a symbol of courage, solitude, and destiny.

The illustrations by Pierre‑Eugène Clairin, painter and decorator, enrich the Gallimard edition by providing a visual dimension to the airy atmospheres and landscapes traversed, enhancing the artistic value of the book.

This first novel already reveals the major themes of Saint-Exupéry: the greatness of man in the face of danger, the fraternity of pilots, and the quest for meaning in action.

Courrier du Sud thus constitutes a foundational milestone in aeronautical literature and a prelude to its later works (Night Flight, Wind, and Citadel), where the experience of flight becomes a philosophical and poetic parable.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry / Pierre-Eugène Clairin - Courrier du Sud - SD (Circa 1960) - Gallimard -

Good condition of the binding, book in its dust jacket with flaps, housed in a cardboard slipcase, slight signs of handling, smooth spine without text.

Very good interior condition, title in red, work enriched with numerous colored illustrations by Pierre-Eugène Clairin, new.

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