Publication History
of
the Little Prince
in U.S.A.

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The Littel Prince and Le Petit Prince were published with Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc., in 1943. Later, the publisher was sued by the French publisher "Editions Gallimard" for the copyright of the book because StEx had contracted with Editions Gallimard for all of his writings.
In 1948 the court decided on the case. On that year Curtice Hitchcock died. Eugine Reynal sold his publishing company and the copyrights of the books to a publisher; Harcout Brace and Company, Inc.
In U.S.A. almost all publishers never describe the printing date on their books. We cannot know the precise date of the pressing of The Little Prince/Le Petit Prince in U.S.A.
Here I show you a table in which I guess the publishing history of the book.

Outline of the printings published with
Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc
and
Harcourt Brace, & Company
YearEnglish EditionFrench EditionAddress of the publishers(New York)Company
Editions with Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc
1943.4.6R & H 1st Edition
1st printing
$2.00.-		-386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
1943.4. -R & H 1st Edition
1st printing
$2.00.-		386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
1943. 2nd printing-386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
1943.3rd printing (an inscription "Descenber 25, 1943" in a gery cover copy)-386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
1944?-2nd printing386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
?4th printing-386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
?-3rd printing386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
?-4th printing386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
?-5th printing386 Fourth AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
1946(?)5th printing, $2.00.--8th West 40th StreetReynal & Hitchcock
1947(?)-6th printing, $2.00.-8th West 40th StreetReynal & Hitchcock
1947(?)-7th printing, $3.00.-383 Madison AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
1947(?)-no printing number8th West 40th Street
(Maybe given mismatched dust jacket)		Reynal & Hitchcock
Decision by the court (1948)
Reynal & Hitchicock, Inc
(merged by HB in 1948)
1950(?)6th printing, $2.50.---Reynal & Hitchcock
1951(?)no printing number--Reynal & Hitchcock
1952 Christmasno printing number--Reynal & Hitchcock
?no printing number-383 Madison AvenueReynal & Hitchcock
Edition of Harcourt, Brace & Company/Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc
Name of Reynal & Hitchcock
only on the bottom of the spine and on the copyright page.
1953(?)no printing number, $3.75.--383 Madison AvenueH,B and Company
195656 K-383 Madison AvenueH,B and Company
195757 L, $3.75.-57 E, $3.95.-383 Madison AvenueH,B and Company
195959 M-750 third AvenueH,B and Company
1960?no printing numberno printing number*750 third AvenueH,B and Company
* A collection of Mr. Brian Bauld. Having a gray colored cover boards. $3.95.-[Many thanks to Mr. Brian Bauld.]
Harcout, Brace & Company changed his name in 1960
Revised version (?) with Harcourt, Brace and World (1961).
1962?-no printing number750 third AvenueH,B and World
?no printing number-750 third AvenueH,B and World
?-no printing number, $4.95.-757 third AvenueH,B and World
1963?no printing number-757 third AvenueH,B and World
1965no printing number-757 third AvenueH,B and World
196868 W-757 third AvenueH,B and World
1969-69 K757 third AvenueH,B and World
1969, the ISBN-10 was specified and opened to use (ended on 2006.12.31)
Harcourt, Brace and World started to print the ISBN
197070 Z, $4.50.--757 third AvenueH,B and World
197070 Z(AA)-757 third AvenueH,B and World
later than 1971DD - LLMNOPQRST757 third AvenueH,B and World
Harcourt, Brace and World changed the name. (1970)
The design of the cover was changed
(Illustrations were not changed)
1987(?)NN OO PP QQ RR-757 third Avenue, N.Y.H,B and Jovanovich
?TT UU VV-115 Fifth Avenue, N.Y.H,B and Jovanovich
Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich marged by General Cinema Corporation.(1991)
The publishing part changed the name to Harcourt Brace & Company (1993).
New versions with illustrations after Editions Gallimard.
1990's ?-WYZX15 East 26th Street, N.Y.H,B and Company
?UU VV WW XX-15 East 26th Street, N.Y.H,B and Company
?AAA BBB CCC-15 East 26th Street, N.Y.H,B and Company
?BBB CCC-15 East 26th Street, N.Y.H,B and Company
?FFF HHH III GGG EEE-15 East 26th Street, N.Y.H,B and Company
Harcourt, Brace and Company changed his name to Harcourt Inc., (1999).
Revised Editon (translated by Richard Howard, Pressed in Hong Kong)
Illustrations are returned back to the R & H's
2000the 1st edition
(= A C E G H F D B)		-15 East 26th Street, N.Y.Harcourt, Inc.
2007.01.01, the ISBN-13 was opened to use

The published dates shown in the above table are not always fixed one because they were inferred from the sciribbles/notes/publisher's-code.
The address of the publishers can not identify without the flap of the dust jacket. The price and the address were printed on the flap that are sometimes lost or cut/clipped. Samples in the table are selected that are able to estimate the publishing date and have the jacket. Some items, that bring important information, are included even when they have no jackets.
An French version, which has no printing number (corresponds to 8th printing?) and is estimated to be printed in 1947, wears a jacket on which the address, 8th West 40th Street, is printed. The address is inconsistent with the sequential moving of the publishers. It is most likely that the jacket is not original one; that is, some one gave him a new jacket. Jackets are lost/discarded very often and, in rare case, books get new jackets or exchanged their jackets. I pay efforts to get redundant items to avoid an abnormal sample.

Uegene Reynal and Curtice Hitchcock established the Reynal & Hichcock, Inc. on 1933 at New York. The year before the establishment they met Saint-Exupery, separately. They asked him to write some articles for them.
Reynal & Hitchicock, Inc. was a "short-lived company"; lived for 15 years only. They did publishing very actively including the "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitter, "Mary Poppins" by Pamela Lyndon Travers, etc.

On 1948 Reynal & Hitchicock, Inc. was mereged by Harcourt, Brace and Company. The name "Reynal & Hichcock, Inc." seems likely to be kept for some years: maybe run as a subsidary company under the Harcourt, Brace & Company, Inc. During former half of 1950's, Reynal & Hitchicock, Inc. issued "The Little Prince" and "Le Petit Prince" with their own name.
At least on 1953 they published a version of the book that bore their publisher's name on the spine and on the copyright page only; on other pages and on the jacket the publisher was decrared as Harcourt, Brace & Company, Inc.
"Reynal & Hitchicock, Inc." seems likely to be adsorbed into the Harcourt, Brace & Company, Inc. on 1957; the address was 3rd Avenue, New York. The abnormal version of the books, however, remained to be issued. I think they needed to do so in order to make the most of their publishing right that they still kept under the decision by the court.
On 1960 the Harcourt, Brace and Company cahnged their name to Harcourt, Brace and World. The name "Reynal & Hitchicock, Inc." disappeared on that year. On 1971 Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc. got a new copyright from Ed. Gallimard and issued new edition of "The Little Prince" and "Le Petit Prince", that had new illustrations after Ed. Gallimard.


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