I found two VN-connected but non-VN items at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair and heard a birthday story.

Kelmscott Bookshop (Baltimore, MD) had an attractive copy of Russian Wonder Tales translated by Post Wheeler, Secretary of the American Embassy in St. Petersburg for $75. It was published in London by Adam and Charles Black in 1912 with a dozen illustrations taken from the work of the very well-known Ivan Bilibin. (Harvard University Library has an American-issued copy (The Century Co., New York, 1912), rebound without the pictorial boards. Google Book Search has it on line.) I wonder if there is a VN connection here, as slight as it might be. Did the Nabokov family know Wheeler, Bilibin, this book?

Pola Negri, 1925

Peter Harrington (London) had an outstanding copy of one of the two fragile little pamphlets on Hollywood published in the 1920s in Russian by VN’s fellow St. Petersburgian, Alisa Rozenbaum. That is, Ayn Rand. Пола Негри [Pola Negri] carries no author credit, is 16 pages, and measures 15 x 11 cm. This copy is the first of the two printings and in pink wrappers. Price, a not so fragile £6750/$10,125. How far those two such different writers came in their adopted country.

John Rutter of Ars Libri (Boston, MA), a specialist in art books and a dealer who knows his VN stuff, told me a story about his 17-year old daughter. Her birthday was coming up soon and John didn’t know what present to get her. Finally, he broke down and asked her directly what she wanted. She considered the question for a moment. Then she turned to her father: “I know how you feel about your books. So, could you get me my own copy of The Annotated Lolita so that I can mark it up?”