EDNote: Thanks to Mary Bellino for this informed opinion.
Correction to info below: there *is* a scan of the signature, if you
scroll all the way down and click the thumbnail. It has the right
general appearance (but I have not done a close comparison, nor would
it be hard to forge in a general way). Further informed opinions are
welcome.
I agree with Marianne Cotugno and our editor: this seems odd.
Anyone who knows anything about Nabokov editions knows that VN
signatures are impossibly rare, and would probably mention it
in the item description. Why didn't the seller scan and
display the signature as well as the front of the dust jacket?
And it's not that easy to tell whether any particular KQK is a
book-of-the-month edition or a true first. I have both, and
the differences are fairly subtle: both mention the BOMC on
the front flap (though in different ways); both say "FIRST
EDITION 45175" on the copyright page, and there is no
book-club blind stamp (always a dead giveaway) on my
particular variant of the BOMC edition. I had to look in
Juliar myself to make sure I was right about which one was the
imposter.
Anyone who is thinking of bidding on this book should e-mail
the seller and ask if there is anything stamped on the back
cover, bottom right. The true first has 45715 stamped in gold;
a BOMC edition will have either a small square or round blind
stamp (just the impression, no gilding or color), or no stamp
at all. (You can't go by the dust jacket because they are
often switched.) The signature is another matter, of course,
but I can't see VN signing a book club edition.
I'm not impugning the integrity of this seller, who has a very
good rating and claims to offer a 3-day return policy --
anyone can be mistaken about/fooled by a book that's outside
his or her area of expertise. But I'm not bidding on the book
either.
I paid $25 for my first edition, by the way, though I can't
say how long ago--probably within the last ten years.