Dr. Richard Peigler, Denver Mus. of Nat. History, is the world authority on Attacus moths.š You can see his book Attacus at www.amazon.com.š I don't have his email right on hand but can put out a TILS request (taxonomy survey) for it and give it to you tomorrow.š I noted that also, at www.search.com there are some cites with habitat, life history info. and amazon.com may well also have some of that stuff in the info. websited there on his book.

KURT JOHNSON

-----Original Message-----
From: D. Barton Johnson [ mailto:chtodel@gte.net ]
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 7:44 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: QUERY re Attacus moth and chess in "Christmas"

stanislaw milkowsky wrote:

> Thisš message wasš originallyš submitted byš stan_milkowsky@HOTMAIL.COM toš the
> NABOKV-L list at LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU. ----------------- Message requiring your
> approval (46 lines) ------------------
> Dear list,
>
> Ive got a couple of questions that require your expertise as well as
> condescension to my ignorance.
>
> Both concern VNs short story called (Christmas and Im referring to the
> Vintage paperback (The Stories of VN. NY: Vintage International, 1997, which
> is paralleled by a Penguin edition in England, if Im not mistaken). Page
> numbers are 131-36 (n646).
>
> # 1:
>
> (+on the wall, instead of a little lump of life, instead of a dark mouse,
> was great *Attacus* moth like those that fly, birdlike, around lamps in the
> Indian dusk (p. 136)
>
> Could anyone refer me to an accessible illustrated guide that would have a
> good depiction of the beast (badly needed) and a little something about its
> ways and habits (optional)? I would greatly appreciate if you could point
> out a Nabokovian scholarly article (if there is one) that discusses the
> moths significance and all that.
>
> # 2:
>
> Theres a gaping whole in my knowledge of VNs work and thats a very
> superfluous idea of how chess work. In a note to the same story VNs says:
> (it oddly resembles the type of chess problem called (selfmate (n647). Ive
> got a brief explanation of the type all right, but is there any way to find
> a chessboard layout with a problem that would fall under the (selmate
> category? And what is the trick again? ((1: checkmate forced by the side
> that is checkmated v called also suimate 2: a chess problem in which suimate
> is required v Websters Third Unabriged, 1976 v not a particularly helpful
> article somehow, at least in my case).
>
> And that is it. I would be exceedingly grateful if you could share with me
> your information or refer me to appropiate books/sites.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Stan. Milkowsky,
> Nizhny-Novgorod
>
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