Subject
Inscribed Copy of Stikhi
From
Date
Body
**Brian Boyd told both Terry and me that he knows nothing of the copy
described below and is thus in no way the mysterious "Nabokov's well-known
biographical researcher and interpreter of his work (let's call him B***)"
to whom the article Terry cites refers. GD**
From: Terry Myers <ganin@netscape.net>
Galya,
I would like to mention that the Moscow antiquarian dealer Gelos is selling
what they assert to be the only known inscribed copy of Stikhi. A
representative of the firm, Alexander Sobolev, wrote an article about this
copy in the April 24 issue of the Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The article also
appears in the Gelos website at http://www.rarebook.ru/u035.htm. The site is
available only in Russian at the present time. Below I have included a rough
translation of the article's final paragraph, where the identity of the person
to whom this copy was presented is identified:
"The copy, an image of which illustrates this article, has the number 299.
In the right upper corner of the half-title, executed in black ink, is a
presentation inscription: 'To my dear Tanya, in memory of Vyra, from the
author.' The book was presented to Tatyana Sergeevna Lisovski, who was
according to family tradition the object of Nabokov's intimate affection at
the beginning of 1917. In a personal letter from Nabokov's well-known
biographical researcher and interpreter of his work (let's call him B***), it
is confirmed that this is the only known copy with an inscription
contemporaneous with the publication. Nabokov's sister E. V. Sikorski
corroborates this indirectly, mentioning in one of her interviews: 'my brother
... never autographed a book to anyone with the exception of those closest to
him.' Thus this autograph is evidently the earliest of the known presentation
inscriptions by Nabokov and in this respect is of indisputable interest for
researchers of his biography."
The article does not discuss the copy's provenance or present any background
information about Nabokov's relationship with Tatyana and I would be very
curious to learn whatever I can. I have already e-mailed Brian Boyd and hope
to receive some answers from him, but further help would of course be
appreciated.
Terry Myers
ganin@netscape.net
____________________________________________________________________
Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.
described below and is thus in no way the mysterious "Nabokov's well-known
biographical researcher and interpreter of his work (let's call him B***)"
to whom the article Terry cites refers. GD**
From: Terry Myers <ganin@netscape.net>
Galya,
I would like to mention that the Moscow antiquarian dealer Gelos is selling
what they assert to be the only known inscribed copy of Stikhi. A
representative of the firm, Alexander Sobolev, wrote an article about this
copy in the April 24 issue of the Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The article also
appears in the Gelos website at http://www.rarebook.ru/u035.htm. The site is
available only in Russian at the present time. Below I have included a rough
translation of the article's final paragraph, where the identity of the person
to whom this copy was presented is identified:
"The copy, an image of which illustrates this article, has the number 299.
In the right upper corner of the half-title, executed in black ink, is a
presentation inscription: 'To my dear Tanya, in memory of Vyra, from the
author.' The book was presented to Tatyana Sergeevna Lisovski, who was
according to family tradition the object of Nabokov's intimate affection at
the beginning of 1917. In a personal letter from Nabokov's well-known
biographical researcher and interpreter of his work (let's call him B***), it
is confirmed that this is the only known copy with an inscription
contemporaneous with the publication. Nabokov's sister E. V. Sikorski
corroborates this indirectly, mentioning in one of her interviews: 'my brother
... never autographed a book to anyone with the exception of those closest to
him.' Thus this autograph is evidently the earliest of the known presentation
inscriptions by Nabokov and in this respect is of indisputable interest for
researchers of his biography."
The article does not discuss the copy's provenance or present any background
information about Nabokov's relationship with Tatyana and I would be very
curious to learn whatever I can. I have already e-mailed Brian Boyd and hope
to receive some answers from him, but further help would of course be
appreciated.
Terry Myers
ganin@netscape.net
____________________________________________________________________
Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.