Lolita by Nabokov, First Edition (217 results)

First edition. First edition. 188, [2]; [3]-223, [1] pp. 2 vols. 12mo. The Nabokov Cousins: 'Lolita' Signed. This copy with ownership signatures of composer and cosmopolitan Nicolas Nabokov (1903-1978) on the flyleaf of each volume. With the signature of his first cousin the author on the flyleaf of the first volume: "Vladimir". The cousins got to know each other when the aristocratic Nabokov family arrived in Yalta in the aftermath of the Bolshevik coup, and their paths crossed repeatedly during their new lives in exile. Vladimir invented himself as one of the great literary figures of the twentieth century; Nicolas pursued his musical studies and achieved renown as a composer. Nicolas accepted a position at Wells College in Auburn, N.Y., in 1936; when war broke out in Europe, he was in a position to assist the German composer Hindemith and the Austrian artist and designer Victor Hammer in fleeing the Nazis. He also helped his cousin Vladimir, who sailed from France for America in May 1940. For The Return of Pushkin, first performed in 1948, Vladimir prepared the English text. Lolita gained worldwide notoriety for its author upon publication in 1955. Nicolas later wrote his cousin, "I never told you how much I liked both Pnin and Lolita and how happy I am about the success of the latter. The only thing that troubles me is that due to my vagrant, erotic past, people often think that Humbert Humbert is a portrait of me! I suppose that the way to profit by it is to say it openly and go on a lecture tour through American high schools and girls' colleges under the title 'How I did It' ." (quoted in Giroud p. 313). The cousins met regularly through the 1970s. Juliar A28.1, issue a. Provenance: from the estate of Nicolas Nabokov Green printed wrappers, priced Francs : 900 on back wrappers. Spines toned, lower portion of spine of first volume worn with small loss. Dated 1.X.1955 on the flyleaf of volume I in an unknown hand. Very good. Morocco backed slipcase, cloth chemises 188, [2]; [3]-223, [1] pp. 2 vols. 12mo.

First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (22cm); black cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and in blind to front cover; dustjacket; xiv,213,[1]pp. Inscribed by Nabokov on the half-title page to his agent, Irving Lazar, and his wife Mary, incorporating a drawing of five colored butterflies: "For Irving and Mary / from Vladimir Nabokov / with his best / Montreux / early May 1974." Gentle sunning to spine ends and upper board edges, discreet repair to gutter between front endpaper and half-title page, with two small scuffs to lower edge of front board; Very Good+ or better. In a supplied dustjacket, unclipped (priced $7.95), lightly edgeworn and a little dust-soiled, with a few tiny tears, and faint discoloration along upper edge of front flap on verso; Very Good+. Housed in a custom clamshell case. A monumental association copy of Nabokov's own adaptation for the film version of his 1955 novel. The recipient, Irving Paul Lazar (1907-1933), was a legendary talent agent and dealmaker who represented both the Hollywood elite, and a stable of authors that included Nabokov, Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Larry McMurtry, William Saroyan, and others. In July of 1959, Nabokov was approached by Stanley Kubrick and James Harris, who had acquired the film rights to Lolita, to write the screenplay. Over the next year, he painstakingly wrote and re-wrote the screenplay until delivering his 400pp draft to Kubrick and Harris in the summer of 1960. "At one point, Kubrick told Nabokov that the screenplay was "much too unwieldy, contained too many unnecessary episodes, and would take about seven hours to run." Nabokov put the screenplay on a crash diet and submitted his final version on 8-Sep-1960. Harris and Kubrick called it the best screenplay ever written in Hollywood" (see Juliar A45). In his foreword to this volume, Nabokov concurs that Kubrick was a talented director, and that his Lolita was a first-rate film, but felt that he only used "ragged odds and ends" of his intended version, which "certainly made the picture as unfaithful to the original script as an American poet's translation from Rimbaud or Pasternak.My first reaction to the picture was a mixture of aggravation, regret, and reluctant pleasure.I keenly regretted the waste of my time while admiring Kubrick's fortitude in enduring for six months the evolution and infliction of a useless product" (p.xiii). The film was released to great acclaim in 1962, with Nabokov nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. It was largely through Lazar's tireless efforts over the next decade that Nabokov was finally able to publish his own version of the screenplay, successfully securing a release from Kubrick in 1972. As a token of his affection for Lazar, Nabokov gifted him a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses in 1966 (similar to the pair Sue Lyon wore in the film), which became part of the centennial exhibition Nabokov Under Glass, held at NYPL in 1999. Nabokov was generally hesitant to inscribe books, and this hesitance was magnified after the raging success of Lolita. Presentation copies of Lolita: A Screenplay are uncommon, with no copies found in the auction record, and the only copy known to us being the dedication copy, inscribed to his wife Vera. Juliar A45.1.

First edition, early impression of Nabokov's lyrical masterwork. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Vladimir Nabokov on the half-title page with an additional drawing of a butterfly. An accomplished lepidopterist, Nabokov only included butterfly drawings in books presented to those especially important to him. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Author photograph by Maclean Damcron. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed. "Brilliant. One of the funniest and one of the saddest books that will be published this year" (New York Times). "Lolita blazes with a perversity of a most original kind, for Mr. Nabokov has distilled from his shocking material hundred-proof intellectual farce. Lolita seems an assertion of the power of the comic spirit to wrest delight and truth from the most outlandish materials. It is one of the funniest serious novels I have ever read; and the vision of its abominable hero, who never deludes or excuses himself, brings into grotesque relief the cant, the vulgarity, and the hypocritical conventions that pervade the human comedy" (Atlantic Monthly). The novel was adapted into the 1962 film directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring James Mason and Peter Sellers.

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Vladimir Nabokov on a laid in signature. A fabulous copy of this TRUE FRIST EDITION with the 900 Francs price printed on the rear panels of both volumes that was later changed to 1200 francs on later editions. This two volume set is in excellent shape with minor wear to the spine and edges. Both Vol 1 and Vol 2 are complete with clean pages. There is NO writing, marks or bookplates in either book. A wonderful copy SIGNED by the author. Signed by Author(s).

First edition, first impression, first issue. Lolita was originally published with "Francs : 900" printed on the rear covers, but a sudden currency fluctuation at the time of publication meant that the books had to be re-priced to 1,200 francs. Copies of the first issue appear either without a price change, as here, or with the bookseller's hand-written correction. The second issue appeared with the publisher's overprice sticker on the rear covers. Nabokov, unable to find an American publisher brave enough to accept Lolita, turned to Paris to find a press. Olympia printed 5,000 copies in 1955; customs officials in the UK were quickly instructed to seize copies of the book at the border, and a year later it was also banned in France. Widespread censorship did little to dampen the book's success; when it was finally published in the USA in 1958 it topped best-seller lists, selling 100,000 copies in the first few weeks. Juliar A28.1; Kearney 24. For Amis, Kirsch, and Prescott, see "Sick, Scandalous, Spectacular: The First Reviews of Lolita", 18 August 2020, Literary Hub, available online. 2 volumes, octavo. Original green and white wrappers printed in black. Housed in a black cloth flat-back box by the Chelsea Bindery. Spines a little creased, very faint dampstain to front wrappers extending to prelims of vol. 2, fore and lower edges lightly foxed, vol. 2 with tiny bump to foot of spine and slight creases to corners. A bright, fresh, near-fine set.

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First Edition, First Printing with the Francs: 900 present on both back panels of the wrappers. A magnificent copy. Both volumes are vibrant in color and bound in the original publisher's paper wrappers. The bindings are tight with NO chips or teas. The pages are exceptionally clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the books. A stunning copy of this 2 volume set.

Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. First edition, first printing, first issue with "Francs : 900" printed on the rear cover of each volume. In two volumes. 188 p. (with no pages 11-12 as noted by Juliar); 223 p. Original green wraps. Near Fine with light creasing to wrappers; toned spines, a small stain to rear cover of volume one and first page of volume two. The first appearance of Nabokov's still-controversial novel from Maurice Girodias's pioneering, Paris-based publishers Olympia Press. Housed in a custom levant leather chemise case tooled in gilt with striking marbled covers.

couverture souple. - Gallimard, Paris 1959, 14,5x21cm, broché en coffret. - Édition originale de la traduction française par E. H. Kahane, un des 86 exemplaires numérotés sur vélin pur fil, seuls grands papiers. Très bel exemplaire très recherché. Notre exemplaire est présenté dans un coffret historié noir, dos carré comportant le nom de l'auteur et le titre imprimés respectivement en rouge et rose et orné de minuscules taches blanches rappelant le motif du foulard de Lolita, premier plat comportant le titre imprimé en rouge, avec en pied la devise "Mon péché, mon âme" répété deux fois en rouge et en rose, percé d'un médaillon sous plexiglass encadré d'un motif tacheté blanc rappelant le foulard de Lolita, et d'où s'échappe un envol de papillons multicolores, deuxième plat portant la mention Humbert répétée trois fois en rouge et rose puis la phrase "Lumière de ma vie, feu de mes reins" répétée deux fois en rouge et rose et le titre "Lo lii ta" en rose, l'ensemble de part et d'autre de la silhouette de Humbert tracée en rose, intérieur du coffret doublé de papier rose; chemise à rabats de papier blanc, dos noir comportant le nom de l'auteur et le titre imprimés réciproquement en rouge et rose et orné de minuscules taches blanches rappelant le motif du foulard de Lolita; merveilleux travail signé de l'artiste Julie Nadot. [ENGLISH TRANSLATION FOLLOWS] Gallimard | Paris 1959 | 14,5 x 21 cm | original wrappers under custom box First edition of the French translation, one of 86 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only grand papier (deluxe) copies. Our copy is housed in a black decorated custom clamshell case, square spine with the author's name and title in red and pink respectively, first panel decorated with a white spotted motif reminiscent of Lolita's scarf, title printed in red, with the quote "Mon péché, mon âme" ("My sin, my soul") at foot, repeated twice in red and pink, panel hollowed in its center and filled with a plexiglass medallion framed by a white spotted motif reminiscent of Lolita's scarf, the second panel bears the words "Humbert" repeated three times in red and pink, followed by "Lumière de ma vie, feu de mes reins "("Light of my life, fire of my loins") repeated twice in red and pink and the title "Lo lii ta" in pink, all on either side of Humbert's silhouette stamped in pink, inside lined with pink paper; case housed in a white paper flap folder, black spine with author's name and title in red and pink respectively, decorated with a white spotted motif reminiscent of Lolita's scarf; wonderful work by artist Julie Nadot.

Small octavo, two volumes, publisher's white paper wrappers printed in green and black. First edition, first printing, first issue with "Francs : 900" printed on the rear cover of each volume. Nabokov's masterpiece. 5000 copies printed. Some wear to edges of both volumes, mainly along spine folds and spine edges, several rubs to spine panel glue wrinkles, mild tanning to white title panels, light bump at lower spine end of volume two, a very good copy that presents extremely well overall. Enclosed in a custom clamshell box. (#170978).

paperback. Condition: near fine. First. 2 volumes. 12mo, original printed green wrappers (some minor rubbing and crinkling on spine; professional repairs to rear corners of first volume and cover of second volume). Paris: Olympia Press, (1955). First edition. An clean tight pair, protected in a sculpted green cloth clamshell case with leather spine label. Nabokov's masterpiece. First issue, with the 900 franc price on both volumes.

First edition, first impression, first issue. Lolita was originally published with "Francs : 900" printed on the rear covers, but a sudden currency fluctuation at the time of publication meant that the books had to be re-priced to 1,200 francs. Copies of the first issue appear either without a price change, as here, or with the bookseller's hand-written correction. The second issue appeared with the publisher's overprice sticker on the rear covers. In this copy, the price of the second volume is untouched, and the price of the first volume has been lightly inked over in blank, but with no corrected price added, meaning this is likely to be some later marking, and not any sign of second issue. Nabokov, unable to find an American publisher brave enough to accept Lolita, turned to Paris to find a press. Olympia printed 5,000 copies in 1955; customs officials in the UK were quickly instructed to seize copies of the book at the border, and a year later it was also banned in France. Widespread censorship did little to dampen the book's success; when it was finally published in the USA in 1958 it topped bestseller lists, selling 100,000 copies in the first few weeks. Provenance: with the ownership inscription of Donald Richie (1924-2013), American author and critic of Japanese cinema, to rear inner wrapper of volume II. Richie wrote several books on Japan, and essays on nature of Japanese cinema: a personal friend of Yasujir Ozu and Akira Kurosawa, he prepared the English subtitles for some of Kurosawa's most famous films, including Kagemusha and Dreams. Juliar A28.1; Kearney 24. For Amis, Kirsch, and Prescott, see "Sick, Scandalous, Spectacular: The First Reviews of Lolita", 18 August 2020, Literary Hub, available online. 2 volumes, octavo. Original green and white wrappers printed in black. Housed in a custom green and red cloth flat-back box, red morocco title label on spine. Pencilled ownership inscription of one A. Lurie to front free endpaper, quite possibly the American novelist Alison Lurie (1926-2020). Printed price on rear wrapper of vol. I inked over. Spine of vol. I leaning, joints lightly rubbed and toned but firm, spines and outer corners creased, lettering on front wrapper of vol. I a little smudged, small bump to rear wrapper of vol. I, internally bright and clean. A very nice set.

First edition, second issue; 2 vols, 8vo; publisher's green, white and black printed wrappers, light wear to spine tips and corners, faint finger soiling to rear wrappers, one corner crease, with the stickers (chipped on vol.II) altering the price to '1200 Francs' affixed to the rear covers, a very good set. Nabokov's controversial novel was rejected by American publishers, but was finally accepted by the avant-garde Olympia Press in Paris and published in this two-volume edition. The novel was first brought to a wider English public by Graham Greene who selected it as one of his books of the year in an article in the Sunday Times newspaper. In 1956, John Gordon, editor of the Sunday Express, responded by calling it 'the filthiest book I have ever read. Sheer unrestrained pornography', thus ensuring its enduring notoriety, and a ban in America and Britain until 1958.

First edition of Nabokov's masterpiece, published in Paris by the Olympia Press in 1955. First issue with the price of 900 francs on the rear panel of each volume. Octavo, 2 volumes, original green wrappers. In very good condition with light rubbing, some toning to the extremities. Ownership names and newspaper clipping tipped in. "Brilliant One of the funniest and one of the saddest books that will be published this year" (New York Times). "Lolita blazes with a perversity of a most original kind, for Mr. Nabokov has distilled from his shocking material hundred-proof intellectual farce. Lolita seems an assertion of the power of the comic spirit to wrest delight and truth from the most outlandish materials. It is one of the funniest serious novels I have ever read; and the vision of its abominable hero, who never deludes or excuses himself, brings into grotesque relief the cant, the vulgarity, and the hypocritical conventions that pervade the human comedy" (Atlantic Monthly). The novel became the basis for the 1962 Stanley Kubrick film starring James Mason and Peter Sellers.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov. Paris, The Olympia Press, 1955 First edition, first issue with "Francs: 900" on rear panels. 2 vols. 188, (2); 223, (1) pp. Sm-8°. Very good set, or. green wrps. (Spines a bit browned, corner of pp. 73/74 unfortunately torn off w. some loss of text). Rejected by all American publishers, the work was published in France in 1955. One of the most important literary works of the 20th century.

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. The true first edition, first printing, of Nabokov s masterpiece, and an icon of 20th century literature. Published in two volumes by Paris Olympia Press in 1955. This includes the original price of 900 francs (a sudden fluctuation in the value of the currency forced the publisher to update this 1200 for later printings). A Near Fine copy, with just some wear to the spines but otherwise clean and bright.

Small 8vo. 2 vols. (2), 188, (2) pp. 223, (1) pp. Pages 11 and 12 of vol. 1 absent from pagination, as issued. Original green and white wrappers, lettering in black to spine and upper cover. First edition, first issue, with the original price ("Francs: 900") printed on lower cover of each volume. - Nabokov's still-controversial masterpiece was initially rejected by several American and British publishers before being accepted by Maurice Girodias and his Paris-based Olympia Press. Upon publication, Nabokov defended his "serious work of art" to friends and publishers: "I know Lolita is my best book so far." The British Home Office ordered all copies entering the UK to be seized, and lobbied the French government so that, surprisingly, "Lolita" was also banned in France for nearly two years. "Lolita" was not published in the U.S. and the U.K. until 1959. The book is ranked fourth on the Modern Library's list of 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century. - Light wear to spines and extremities of jackets with upper cover of vol. 2 gently creased; white section of the spine of both volumes a little yellowed; page 63/64 shows minor loss to lower corner from imperfect opening. Still a very good set. - Field 793. Juliar A28.1.1, issue a. Kearney, The Paris Olympia Press, 24.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 2 volumes. With provenance. 8vo, Publisher's green, white, and black printed wrappers, joints and spine tips rubbed. Vol. 1 with tape mend at top corner of front wrapper on recto and verso and lacking front flyleaf. Vol. 2 rear wrapper with hard crease and small abrasion. Ownership signature on Vol. 2 front flyleaf by noted American poet and critic, Lloyd Frankenberg, recipient of the 1938 Spenser award, a 1940 Guggenheim Foundation fellow, a 1942 Carnegie grant, the 1947 Academy Arts and Letters award, a 1942 Rockefeller Foundation fellow, and a member the poetry jury for the National Book Award. Both volumes are First Edition, First Issue, with unobscured printed price of 900 Francs on the rear of each volume. Kearney 16; Juliar A28.1.1. In archival sleeve.

Paris, The Olympia Press, (1955). 2 volumes. Original green printed wrappers with slight wear along the edges. Hinges and capitals with slight paper loss. Apart from the edgewear and monir loss of paper, both volumes are fresh, tight, square, and clean, also internally. First edition, first issue (with "Francs : 900" to back wrappers) of this magnum opus of 20th century literature, which, with its innovative style and highly controversial subject matter caused an upright scandal when it appeared. The work had been turned down by six publishing houses, before it was finally printed, anticipating how it would be received by the public. In 1955, Nabokov finally signed a contract with Olympia Press in Paris. By the Sunday Express editor it was called "the filthiest book I have ever read" and "sheer unrestrained pornography"" the Home Office in Great Britain instructed British Customs to seize all copies entering the country, and in 1956 the book was banned in France. The various translations of the work into other languages caused a number of other scandals, but in spite of American officials being anxious about the appearance of the first American edition, this was issued without problems (in 1958) and became an instant bestseller. In fact, it sold more than 100.000 copies within the first three weeks (being the first book after "Gone With the Wind" to do so).Today, the book is considered a classic of modern literature and one of the finest novels of the 20th century.

In-8, broché, couverture imprimée.Edition originale de cette traduction française. Un des 86 exemplaires numérotés sur vélin pur fil, seul tirage sur grand papier. Neuf, non coupé.

First edition, first issue. Two volumes. 8vo., original green printed wrappers. Later ownership inscription 'R. Murphy' on Vol. 1 front pastedown. Paris, The Olympia Press. Nabokov?s disturbing novel about a paedophile?s exploitation of his orphaned step daughter, published by the Olympia Press in Paris, ?an imprint specialising in what has been described as a list of pornographic trash?, but who were also responsible for publishing several of the most widely proclaimed novels of the twentieth century. Lolita was initially rejected by all of the American publishers approached by Nabokov, fearing censorship and even imprisonment, fears that were somewhat vindicated by the subsequent prohibition of the book in both France and England. Ironically, it was never actually banned in the United States, appearing in 1958 when these fears had been assuaged somewhat by the passage of time. When the novel was republished, such a hype had been created surrounding it due to the controversy that it became the first book since Margaret Mitchell?s Gone With the Wind to sell more than 100,000 copies in its first three weeks. A review published in the New York Times at the time of the 1958 publication puts this in somewhat bitter terms: ?Certain books achieve a sort of underground reputation before they are published. [?] And if their authors are really lucky some act of official censorship publicizes their work to the masses. ?Lolita? by Vladimir Nabokov is such a book. Mr. Nabokov is particularly lucky because his book was not censored in the United States, but in France of all places.? First issue, with ?Francs: 900? to rear wrappers. A very good set, lightly worn wrappers, rubbing to spine and joints, with a little loss of colour in places, a little creasing to front and back wrappers, and subtle and expert repairs to wrappers of volume one.

Paris, The Olympia Press (S.I.P. Montreuil), 1955 (August), Edizione originale nell emissione riprezzata. Esemplari con etichetta di «New Price | Francs 1.200 per volume | The Olympia Press» a coprire l originario «900 Francs»; etichetta sovrastata dalla nota a matita «I/II Frs. 2400»; i due volumi si presentano freschissimi e puliti, dritti e squadrati, con i dorsi appena bruniti e leggermente segnati lungo i fascicoli, minime e quasi impercettibili spellature agli spigoli delle cerniere, una nota come di segnatura di biblioteca in inchiostro blu al margine basso interno della prima carta di ciascun volume. Il capolavoro di Nabokov era già finito nei primi anni cinquanta ma fu respinto da più editori americani, preoccupati dal contenuto potenzialmente scandaloso del libro. L autore si rivolse quindi alla casa editrice Olympia di Parigi, che pubblicava in prevalenza libri di stampo erotico (Andrew Field, biografo di Nabokov, sottolinea ironicamente come «Lolita» sia stato probabilmente «the most chaste book ever printed by Olympia»). La casa editrice parigina accettò, e ad agosto il libro era pronto, in «probably 5000 copies» (Juliar). Inizialmente accolto con freddezza, il libro divenne un caso letterario grazie a Graham Greene, che sul numero di Natale del «Sunday Times» nello stesso 1955 lo elencò tra i tre migliori libri usciti nel corso dell anno. «As notoriety and sales increased through 1956, Maurice Girodias, Olympia Press publisher, smelling the extra francs, bumped the price for the two volumes from 900 francs up to 2400 francs, with a repricing done in various ways: a printed rectangular sticker on the back of one or both volumes [.] a round sticker [.] with handwritten price [.] the old price crossed out in ink and the new price of 1200 handwritten in» (Juliar). -- L edizione originale ci mise tre anni ad esaurirsi, ma ora del 1958 il "caso «Lolita»" era ormai montato a livello mondiale, con edizioni nelle principali lingue (tra le prime, quella italiana per la «Medusa» Mondadori in maggio) e finalmente la nuova edizione in inglese, pubblicata a New York da G.P. Putnam s Sons, che consentì la correzione dei numerosi refusi che funestavano la prima stampa sul suolo francese. -- Commentando la stesura dell opera direttamente in inglese (lingua che Nabokov parlava in casa fin da bambino e che padroneggiava con maestria), nella postfazione alla prima edizione americana («On a book entitled "Lolita"») l autore ebbe a dire: «After Olympia Press, in Paris, published the book, an American critic suggested that "Lolita" was the record of my love affair with the romantic novel. The substitution "English language" for "romantic novel" would make the elegant formula more correct». Juliar, Vladimir Nabokov: A Descriptive Bibliography, n. A28.1 issue b 2 voll., in 16°, brossura verde con stampa in bianco e nero, pp. 188 [2]; 223 [1]. Edizione originale nell emissione riprezzata. Esemplari con etichetta di «New Price | Francs 1.200 per volume | The Olympia Press» a coprire l originario «900 Francs»; etichetta sovrastata dalla nota a matita «I/II Frs. 2400»; i due volumi si presentano freschissimi e puliti, dritti e squadrati, con i dorsi appena bruniti e leggermente segnati lungo i fascicoli, minime e quasi impercettibili spellature agli spigoli delle cerniere, una nota come di segnatura di biblioteca in inchiostro blu al margine basso interno della prima carta di ciascun volume. brossura verde con stampa in bianco e nero,

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Maclean Damcron (Author photo) (illustrator). 1st Edition. First printing of the first American edition, with 1955 as the publication date: black cloth-backed gray patterned boards, spine lettered in gilt, with the red endpapers, and red top-stain, in original first issue jacket without the "Complete Unexpurgated Edition" statement on the front panel and with the original price of $5.00 listed on the inside front flap. A light bump to upper back corner, else book in fine condition; original dust jacket with a couple tiny closed tears at spine ends, light creasing to upper back cover and upper back spine fold, light creasing near center of bottom back cover, faint creasing near front spine folds, and faint soiling to front cover, else fine. A lovely copy with minimal flaws!.

softcover. Condition: Very good. First. A very good first edition, two volumes, with the first issue 900 franc price on the back covers. Half inch corner triangle missing from top right corner of front cover. Rear cover of second volume partially separating at the spine. Housed in a custom-made collector's clamshell case.

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. first edition". First edition, first issue, with the original price ("Francs: 900") printed on lower cover of each volume 1 AND AN ORIGINAL 1X2" WHITE STICKER TO BACK OF VOL 2."NEW PRICE FRANCS 1.200 PER VOLUME.OLYMPIA PRESS" small 1/8" corner chip to that paper notice, else complete. VERY GOOD Condition, clean, solid copies. Vol 1 shows small bit of that label was removed in past) else both volumes are close to new. PAGES 11 AND 12 OF VOL.I ABSENT FROM PAGINATION, AS ISSUED.Covers state "THE OLYMPIA PRESS" on 3 Individual lines,.centered.not on 2 lines . Title page has "THE OLYMPIA PRESS--- 8,Rue de Nesle, Paris 6 e" on 2 lines. WHITE SPINE STRIP HAS SINGLE asterisk * BOTTOM SPINE of VOLUME 2 HAS 2 ASTERISKS (**); Volume One has white endpaper with *1.That page is followed by 3 sheets and text begins with page numbered 7. Volume Two has **1 and is followed by 3 sheets and text begins on page 9. Dark Green covershave narrow black decorative border with narrow white inner border.and cover text in black as central text. ; 188+223pg pages; book1 Back cover has "France : 900"."Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. ".

Wraps. Condition: Fine. Complete set of the First Edition Library's "Published in Paris" Banned Books series, including Ulysses by James Joyce, Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller, and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. (illustrator). Limited Edition. [Three volumes]. High quality facsimiles, with almost identical weight, size, fonts, art, wrappers, and texture to the true first editions. Lolita printed in two volumes with green paper wraps. Tropic of Cancer in illustrated paper wraps, with facsimile "For Subscription Only" band around middle of book. Ulysses in blue paper wraps with title in black on front cover. All with a touch of wear to corners of wraps, a fine set. This set was available to subscribers only, and includes the publisher's pamphlet with information on each book's creation, initial publication, and reception from audiences worldwide. Housed in matching cloth clamshells, titles listed in gilt on green morocco labels affixed to spines. Due to varying degrees of graphic language and sexual content, the original manuscripts of Ulysses, Tropic of Cancer, and Lolita were not accepted by publishers in the home countries of the author's, but were released by Olympia Press in Paris. Despite their controversial nature, these three titles are now essential works in english canon.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Israeli edition, and the first hardcover edition (there was also a wrappered issue of the Israeli edition). Two volumes in one. Original blue leather-textured papercovered boards in dustwrapper. Offsetting to the front and rear endpapers as usual, small and light stain on rear fly leaf, else near fine in a modestly rubbed, very good dustwrapper with some tanning to the white portion of the spine and a few modest chips. The first hardcover edition; the true first edition was published in Paris in two wrappered volumes. Stamped with the number 1442 on the front flap, Nabokov bibliographer Michael Juliar believes all copies of the Israeli edition were numbered, both hardcover and wrappered. A very uncommon issue of a high spot of modern literature. Nabokov wrote the screenplay for the 1962 Stanley Kubrick film with James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, and Sue Lyon in the title role, the film was remade by Adrian Lyne in 1997 with Jeremy Irons.

First UK edition, first impression. Lolita was first published by the Olympia Press in Paris in 1955 after Nabokov was unable to find an American publisher brave enough to accept the work. Customs officials in the UK were quickly instructed to seize copies of the book at the border, and a year later it was also banned in France. Widespread censorship did little to dampen the book's success: when it was finally published in the USA in 1958, it topped best-seller lists, selling 100,000 copies in the first few weeks. Kingsley Amis, writing for The Spectator in 1959, remarked on the almost immediate cult-status of the novel in the UK: "Few books published in this country since the King James Bible can have set up more eager expectation than Lolita, nor, on the other hand, can any work have been much better known in advance to its potential audience". Juliar A28.3. For Amis, Kirsch, and Prescott, see "Sick, Scandalous, Spectacular: The First Reviews of Lolita", Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2020. Octavo. Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in red morocco, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, raised bands, single rule to boards gilt, twin rule to turn-ins gilt, black and white patterned endpapers, gilt edges. A fine copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First USA Edition/First Printing. Hardcover. Fine book in a fine first state unclipped dust jacket. The jacket has a touch of wear to the edge and light toning to the spine panel. The book has bookseller pencil markings to the front flyleaf and softening to the upper spine edge. Uncommon is this condition.

Two volumes in one first Israeli edition hard back binding in publisher's original dark navy leather textured paper covered boards, gilt title and author lettering to the spine. 8vo. 7½'' x 4½''. Contains 190; 223 printed pages of text. There were apparently 1000 numbered copies printed [ours bears the number 137 on the inside front flap] of which half were issued in wrappers the rest as here in boards. A little ghosting to the end papers and one vertical faint tape shadow line to the lower paste down where the dust wrapper has been protected in brown paper and secured, now removed. Very Good condition book in Good condition dust wrapper with a tear to the front fore edge, tanning of the paper to the spine and edges of the flaps, tiny flaked chips to the spine tips, priced 7.500 in pencil to the rear panel. Dust wrapper supplied in archive acetate film protection, this preserves and prolongs the life of the paper, it is not adhered to the book or to the dust wrapper. Member of the P.B.F.A. MODERN FIRST EDITIONS.

First American edition and first trade edition of Nabokov's masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation. One of the most celebrated books in history, Nabokov's Lolita quickly attained classic status upon publication in 1955. Notable for its controversial subject, the novel was adapted into a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and again in 1997 by Adrian Lyne in addition to several adaptations for stage. "Lolita blazes with a perversity of a most original kind. For Mr. Nabokov has distilled from his shocking material hundred-proof intellectual farce. Lolita seems an assertion of the power of the comic spirit to wrest delight and truth from the most outlandish materials. It is one of the funniest serious novels I have ever read; and the vision of its abominable hero, who never deludes or excuses himself, brings into grotesque relief the cant, the vulgarity, and the hypocritical conventions that pervade the human comedy" (Atlantic Monthly).