Vladimir Nabokov 
 
G.P. Putnam’s Sons: 1962. First impression. Hardcover in a jacket. Octavo. Stains and chipping on the price clipped jacket. Minor bumping along the edges of the boards, slight bumping on the crown and heel of the spine, and minor foxing on the text block edges. 315 pages. Very good. 
 
Though Dr. Kinbote's grisly reputation has suffered much from John Shade scholars, back in 1962 Nabokov allowed full prominence, by way of Foreword and Commentary, to the ignominious critic, letting readers make up their minds for themselves about his true relationship with the great Shade. The best priced copy on the market of the first edition. With the signature Putnam design of Nabokov’s classics. 
 
“For we die every day; oblivion thrives
Not on dry thighbones but on blood-ripe lives”