Lolita by Nabokov Vladimir, Signed (11 results)

SIGNED first edition - Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. ) A portrait of Vladimir Nabokov told through the lens of the years he spent in America - where he and Vera arrived in 1943, fleeing the Nazis. Roper discusses Nabokov's friendship with Edmund Wilson, his time at Cornell, but focuses on the journeys - 200,000 miles of them - which he took in the West, with his wife, Vera, and son Dmitri, in search of butterflies - on the two-lane highways and the roadside motels that he brings to life in Lolita. SIGNED on the title page. Photographs/ Bibliography, notes. 333 pp. Very near fine in illustrated wrappers (toning to edges of textblock).

SIGNED first edition - Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. ) A portrait of Vladimir Nabokov told through the lens of the years he spent in America - where he and Vera arrived in 1943, fleeing the Nazis. Roper discusses Nabokov's friendship with Edmund Wilson, his time at Cornell, but focuses on the journeys - 200,000 miles of them - which he took in the West, with his wife, Vera, and son Dmitri, in search of butterflies - on the two-lane highways and the roadside motels that he brings to life in Lolita. SIGNED on the title page. Photographs/ Bibliography, notes. 333 pp. Fine in illustrated wrappers.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Signed by Author(s).

First Edition, First Printing. Signed by actress Sue Lyon in red ink on a card affixed to the front flyleaf. Lyon starred at age 14 in Stanley KubrickÕs film adaptation of Vladimir NabokovÕs novel. Sue Lyon appeared in such films as John FordÕs 7 Women, Night of the Iguana with Richard Burton, The Flim-Flam Man with George C. Scott, Evel Knievel with George Hamilton, etc. Having retired from films in 1980, Sue LyonÕs autograph is very uncommon. This books prints NabokovÕs own screenplay for the film which in many ways is quite different than the finished film. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

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).

First American edition and first trade edition of Nabokov's masterpiece. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy on a slip of Lolita, inscribed by Dominique Swain, who played the leader character in the 1997 film bearing the same name to her stepfather, "Dear Martin You're the best second daddy a girl could hope for. I love your outlook on life and am lucky to have been able to look out on and experience life with you. Her's to continuing the adventure! Dominique Swain P.S. You're a better dad than Jeremy Irons, John Travolta, and Nic Cage put together xoxox." The 1997 film adaptation was directed by Adrian Lyne and written by Stephen Schiff. It was the second screen adaptation of Nabokov's novel starring Dominique Swain as Lolita, Jeremy Irons as Humbert Humbert, with supporting roles by Melanie Griffith as Charlotte Haze, and Frank Langella as Clare Quilty. Photograph of Nabokov by Maclean Dameron. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. A unique example. 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).

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.

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, 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.

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. 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.