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Fw: Son of 'Lolita' author arranges sale of books ...
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----- Original Message -----
From: Sandy P. Klein
To: spklein52@hotmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 6:48 AM
Subject: Son of 'Lolita' author arranges sale of books ...
The below is on the front page of the Palm Beach newspaper with copies of two beautiful color butterfly inscriptions.
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http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com//newsfd/auto/feed/arts/2004/05/04/1083645153.05522.6013.4597.html
Son of 'Lolita' author arranges sale of books butterfly inscriptions
By JAN SJOSTROM, Daily News Arts Editor
Tuesday, May 4, 2004 ≈ Dmitri Nabokov had an unusually close relationship with his father, Vladimir Nabokov, author of the infamous novel Lolita and many other works.
He was an only child of devoted parents. As an adult, he translated six of his father's novels, scores of poems and more than 40 short stories. He also managed his parents' business affairs.
Part of that charge included the care of the Nabokovs' personal library, which will be auctioned by Tajan Wednesday in Geneva. The sale includes 100 books and 30 titles.
Nearly all were written by Vladimir Nabokov and given to his wife, Vera, and their son. Most bear dedications and are decorated with the writer's trademark butterfly drawings. Many contain extensive annotations, corrections or translations written in the author's own hand.
"The books were placed in my care with the understanding that when I reached a certain age, that I would find a good home for them, rather than leave them in some musty cellar or dusty warehouse," said Dmitri Nabokov, a 70-year-old part-time Palm Beach resident.
He assumes that a buyer who pays a substantial price for a book will ensure that it's properly preserved, he said.
The books include novels, such as Lolita, Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicl, and Pale Fire; poetry and short story collections; and Nabokov's memoir, Speak, Memory. Their estimated total value exceeds $2 million.
Vladimir Nabokov was an aristocratf+t,f-t whose family fled the Russian Revolution and settled in Europe. He was educated at Cambridge University in England. He emigrated to the United States in 1940 to escape the Nazis.
Nabokov wrote his first works in Russian, and hef+thisf-t later switched to English, of which he had an equally facile command. Although Lolita, the story of a middle-aged man who has an affair with his 12-year-old stepdaughter, is his most famous book, he wrote 19 other novels.
He was a stylistic innovator who crafted his words with care, which is one reason why there are so many marginalia in the books to be auctioned. He rewrote extensively, and was rarely pleased with translators other than son Dmitri. Considered one of the best writers of the 20th century, he died in 1977.
Nabokov loved butterflies almost as much as he did words. He was a renowned lepidopteristf+t,f-t who discovered two new species of butterflies and oversaw the Harvard Museum of Natural History's butterfly collection. He spent his vacations pursuing butterflies. Lolita was written during butterfly expeditions to the Rocky Mountains in the 1950s.
The butterfly inscriptions in his books are rendered in ink, colored pencil and crayon. They range from simple sketches to elaborate color portraits of invented species.
Among the most beautiful of his imaginary butterflies is Verina Raduga. Translated, the name mean's Vera's rainbow. The drawing appears in a 1971 edition off+i f-iNabokov: Criticism, Reminiscences, Translations and Tributes in the sale.
Many of the dedications incorporate the word games in which Nabokov delighted. In a volume of Tyrants Destroyed, the writer encrypted a gentle reminder to his son to get moving on a translation. Beneath a butterfly drawing are the words, "For Dmitri, my faithful collaborator, password nemedlenno (a Russian word that means immediately)."
Dmitri Nabokov said his father always found time for his son, no matter how busy he was. He taught him to play soccer and tennis, and the two enjoyed word games and scrabble.
In addition to his literary activities, Dmitri Nabokov has had a career as an operatic bass. He discovered Palm Beach 18 years ago, while performing the role of the Commendatore in Don Giovanni for Palm Beach Opera.
He's an avid race-car driver who still takes his Ferrari and Dodge Vipers for a 200 mph spin around the track now and again.
He's tried his hand at writing original material. He is working on an autobiography, portions of which have been published.
He has completed a novel, but hasn't dared to publish it yet. "I'm somewhat intimidated," he said. "One has to be careful about following in footsteps such as I have."
He hasn't finished adding to his father's legacy. A volume of Nabokov's unpublished poems should be done in a year a half, he said.
For information, call Tajan at 011 33 1 53 30 30 30 or visit the Web site at www.tajan.com .
≈ jsjostrom@pbdailynews.com
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