THE REAL LIFE OF SEBASTIAN KNIGHT [Association Copy]

by Nabokov, Valdimir

$6,143 · Offered by Biblio

First edition · Signed · In dust jacket

Publication This copy is one of only 749 first issued in December 1941 with a red, rough burlap cloth binding. Condition Overall Grade: Good / Good+ (Aged but structurally firm; inscription is Fine). Inscription: Written on the front flyleaf in a bold, crisp black ink. The ink remains dark and vibrant with absolutely no fading, bleeding, or smudging. The page hosting the inscription has no tears or creases. Spine Label: The original paper spine label is present and mostly intact, showing the main title text "The Real Life of Sebastian Knight" and the left-hand decorative border sharply. There is minor chipping to the bottom edge. Front Cover Label: The front paper label is clean, complete, and fully legible. Cloth and Binding: Bound in the original first-issue red burlap-textured cloth. The fabric shows severe fraying and structural material loss at the spine tail (bottom), with the lower-left corner of the front board split to expose the underlying grey binder's board. The spine head shows milder softening and fraying. The front and rear joints are stable, and the internal text block remains tightly bound and square. Pages show uniform, expected wartime paper age-toning but are clean and free of marginalia or foxing. Inscription With a warm, playful inscription in black ink by Vladimir Nabokov on the front flyleaf to his early English editor and novelist Mollie Lee and her husband Asher Lee. To Asher and Molly Lee / From Vladimir Nabokov / Who remembers the "Cat" / And looks

• Publisher: New Directions
• Year: 1941
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: hardcover

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