Laughter in the Dark
Nabokov, Vladimir. New Directions, 1960. Hardbound. First translated into English as Camera Obscura by Winifred Roy, this proto-Lolita novel follows a jailbait-chasing protagonist who, according to its opening passage, 'loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster'. Nabokov disliked Roy's translation and so undertook his own, here reprinted with type-forward jacket design by Charles Kaplan and Griselda Ohannessian (Ohannessian, whose childhood was punctuated by a visit from Laura Riding and Robert Graves, worked for New Directions for nearly 50 years).
Tight, square spine. Clean, unmarked interior. Some bumped corners, light edge-wear, and a very small area of soiling to the front board. Mylar-protected jacket is not price-clipped and has some areas of moderate to heavy edge-wear, light rubbing, and closed tearing at the folds. 292 pp. Featured Rare & Collectible.
