Article externe

On Searching For Nabokov’s Rarest Paperbacks Across America

Nina Chayka· 21 octobre 2026

Brooklyn, late 2010s. I finally found it. There it is, at the bottom of a dollar bin: Vladimir Nabokov’s first novel, Mashenka. Magenta cover, simple black type. I lift it by the edges, gingerly, as if it didn’t just spend

Résumé

Nabokov's rare paperbacks

Vladimir Nabokov’s first novel, Mashenka, is a rare paperback published in 1971 by Ardis, a small publishing house founded by Carl and Ellendea Proffer.

The book features a magenta cover with simple black type and a carriage-and-horseman logo, along with a photo of Nabokov wearing pince-nez glasses.

These editions are highly sought after by collectors due to their limited print runs, often just a few hundred copies, and their historical significance.

The Proffers started Ardis in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during the Cold War, aiming to publish literature that was banned or unavailable in the Soviet Union, including works by Nabokov, Osip Mandelstam, and Mikhail Bulgakov.

The rarity of these paperbacks stems from their small initial print runs and the fact that many were smuggled out of the Soviet Union, making surviving copies extremely valuable today.

Lire l'analyse complète en 5 points →

Lire l'article