A total of 48 Turkish collectors of one of the best known novels in the world, Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s ‘The Little Prince’, came together in Ankara to exhibit 170 different copies of the book in different languages, dialects and shapes.
The exhibition included rare languages, mini books, and special editions from all around the world, thelittleprince.com reported.
Besides the display of the copies, other programs were scheduled during the 9-day event (May 16-24). Conferences on the book, collectors’ experience, travels for the book, language learning via the book, translation process in different languages/dialects in Turkey, workshops for kids, and readings in different languages were all planned to attract and please the book fans.
Ankara University Faculty of Communications academic Mehmet Sobaci, who has been collecting ‘The Little Prince’ books for 20 years, said he has 860 books in 144 languages and dialects, of which 400 had been gifted to him.
Sobaci defined the book as a “folk in praise of a lost childhood. It can be a reference book for the old beautiful days.” Another collector, Yildiray Lise, said the next goal was to open ‘The Little Prince Museum’.
The book has been translated to Persian by well-known translators Mohammad Ghazi, Ahmad Shamloo, Abolhassan Najafi, Abbas Pejman and Mostafa Rahmandoost.
Smallest Edition
Included among the books is the smallest edition, which is the size of a 25 Turkish Kurus coin, an embossed print for the visually disabled, a print that can be read through a mirror, a Morse Alphabet print and the first Turkish print from 1953.
First published in 1943, ‘The Little Prince’ is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat, writer, poet and pioneering aviator Saint-Exupery (1900–1944).
The novella is both the most-read and 3rd most-translated book in the world, and was voted the best book of the 20th century in France.
Translated into more than 250 languages and dialects with sales totaling over 140 million copies worldwide, it has become one of the best-selling books ever published. The book is the story of a young alien prince who falls to Earth and experiences loneliness, friendship, love, and loss.
