There are many symbols and memories immersed inside Le Petit Prince written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The metaphors could be traced to the life of the author, especially on the time of World War II, when the book was written by the author in exile.
The baobab symbolised the destructive power that everybody were reluctant to control. The rose symbolised the people whom the prince wanted to protect, but who also troubled the prince. When St-Ex must leave the country as an exile, the little prince decided to leave his planet; they both saw people with ignorance and delusion of the critical situation everywhere; they both felt lonely in their new planet / continent. At the end of the story, the little prince decided to return to his planet. He just simply disappeared from the earth — he should be dead, bitten by the snake, but he only disappeared. After finishing this manuscript, St-Ex decided to return to Europe to fight the facist power. He flew for an observatory mission on 31 July 1944, and never returned. He simply disappeared — he could be dead, shot but the fascist, but he only disappeared.
Besides honouring St-Ex as an inspiring writer with its special edition of pens in 2017; Montblanc has also launched three series to pay homage to The Little Prince / Le Petit Prince. The first series in 2018 with blue colour representing the sky; the second in 2019 with brown colour representing the desert; and the third in 2020 with burgundy colour representing the planet, or the rose. The pen displayed here is the second edition of Le Petit Prince, in brown.
Nicknamed The Aviator, this pen also pays a tribute to St-Ex as the pilot himself. The metal cap of the pen is decorated with a drawing of the desert and aeroplane, with platinum-coated fittings contrasting with the dark brown of the writing instrument. The barrel of this Meisterstück Special Edition is made of dark brown precious resin evoking the aesthetic of the aviator.
Before travelling back to his asteroid, the little prince tells the pilot he will be able to hear his laugh any time simply by looking at the stars and remembering. As a reminder of the laughter in the stars, a golden star adorns the clip of this edition. A sentence from the original novel has been laser engraved into the crown of the writing instrument: Toutes les grandes personnes ont d’abord été des enfants.
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