1963 Rare First Limited Edition #419- The Planet of the Apes, Planete des Singes

Author: Pierre Boulle.
Title: La Planète des Singes [The Planet of the Apes].
Publisher: Paris, Le Cercle du Nouveau Livre, 1963. First edition, first printing of this limited issue; copy no. 419.
Language: Text in French.
Size: 8" x 5.5".
Pages: 265 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good original full green cloth binding with gilt lettering on the cover and spine (hinges fine, overall slightly scuffed - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight, and clean, with light foxing and staining mainly to the first endpaper - as shown).

Estimate: USD 500 – 800.

The book: A rare and attractive first limited edition of one of the landmark works of 20th-century science fiction, La Planète des Singes, published here in the original French before its international translations. Blending speculative fiction with sharp social and philosophical commentary, Boulle’s novel gained worldwide recognition following the 1968 film adaptation, which launched the enduring Planet of the Apes franchise.

The author: Pierre Boulle (1912–1994) was a French novelist best known for La Planète des Singes and The Bridge Over the River Kwai. Trained as an engineer and active in the French Resistance during World War II, his experiences informed his incisive and often satirical explorations of human nature, society, and power.