Vladimir Nabokov. 
 
Weidenfeld & Nicolson: 1959. First British edition. Hardcover in a jacket (an Erik Ayers jacket design). Octavo. Sizable chips and scratches along the top and bottom of the jacket, though the jacket remains intact. Rubbing and stains on the jacket as well. Spine slightly leaning. A crease down the spine. Slight smudging on the bottom edge of the text block. Pleasant smoker's odor, but it is an odor. A 20 page stretch (30 to 50) where there are stains and smudges and a few tears, mostly in the margins. One across a page. 319 pages. Book very good, jacket good. 
 
A humanizing portrait of a pedophile and a sublime parody of the sterile American fifties. The famous opening lines are so good they should be sung:  
 
"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."