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Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79034082
Collection material in English and Russian, with French and German
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, poet, novelist, literary critic, lecturer, and translator, were donated to the Library of Congress by Nabokov from 1958 through 1965. Additions were acquired by purchase in 1971 and 1991 and by gifts from Peter Pertzoff in 1964 and Jay Wilson in 1991.
The papers of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov were arranged and described in 1969. They were reorganized in 2000 when additional material was integrated into the collection by T. Michael Womack, with further processing and description completed in 2003. The collection was prepared for microfilming in 2007, and the finding aid was revised by Margaret McAleer with the assistance of Lena H. Wiley and Brian McGuire in 2009.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov in these papers has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of these papers is available on thirteen reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977) span the years from 1918 to 1974, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period between 1925 and 1965. Focusing on Nabokov's work as a poet, novelist, literary critic, lecturer, and translator, the collection consists of the following series: Correspondence, Writings, Miscellany, an Addition, and Oversize containing holograph and typescript drafts, galley proofs, page proofs, and printed versions of biographies in addition to book reviews, essays, interviews, memoirs, novellas, novels, plays, poems, short stories, translations of works by others, and related material. The bulk of the collection is written in Russian and English. In most instances, titles of Nabokov's works are based on English translations of Russian citations appearing in Michael Juliar's
The Correspondence series is arranged as letters received and sent. Although small in quantity, it contains letters from prominent figures in Russian literature and culture including IU. I. Aikhenvalʹd , Mark Aleksandrovich Aldanov, Nina Nikolaevna Berberova, Nikolai Berdiaev, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, Ivan Lukash, V. A. Maklakov, V. F. Khodasevich, Boris Rapchinskii, V. V. Rudnev, and V. Zenzinov. Various Russian-language emigré publishers and publications are also represented in the series, such as Petropolis,
The Writings series constitutes the largest portion of the collection. The bulk of the series consists of material relating to works of nonfiction, translations of works by others, and novels and reflects both the Russian and English language periods of the author. It was as a writer in English following his move to the United States in 1940 that Nabokov began to achieve serious recognition as a novelist. His writings were banned in the Soviet Union until the 1970s. Nabokov's first of several book-length autobiographies,
Nabokov's considerable output of novels is documented in the Writings series. Titles representing his Russian period include
Holograph and typescript drafts of numerous poems written by Nabokov throughout his career are in both Russian and English. Representative titles include “Bezumets” (“The Madman”), “Chto za nochʹ s pamiatʹiu sluchilosʹ?” (“What Happened Overnight to Memory?”), “K Rossii” (“To Russia”), “Probuzhdenie” (“The Awakening”), “Rasstrel” (“The Execution”), “Smertʹ” (“Death”), “Snovidenʹe” (“A Vision in a Dream”), and “Vesna” (“Spring”). The poetry section also contains examples of Nabokov's translations of poems written by others, including two in French, “Le bateau ivre” by Arthur Rimbaud and the anonymous “La bonne Lorraine” translated as “Pʹianyi korablʹ”and “La bonne Lorraine,” respectively. One in Russian, “Obezʹiana” by V. F. Khodasevich, was translated into English as “The Monkey.” Short stories and novellas represented in the series include “The Double Monster,” “Govoriat po russki” (“They Speak Russian”), “Mademoiselle O,” “Ozero, obkalo, bashnia” (Cloud, Castle, Lake”), “Pilʹgram” (“The Aurelian”), “Podlets” (“An Affair of Honor”), and “Tiazhelyi dym” (“Torpid Smoke”).
Miscellaneous items in the Writings series include short works such as book reviews, classroom teaching material, and essays. Many of the poems and short stories in the collection are signed “V. Sirin,” a pseudonym frequently used by Nabokov in Berlin and Paris during the 1920s and 1930s.
Scattered throughout the collection are notes and drafts written on 4" x 6" cards. Files documenting the writings
The Miscellany series includes a transcript of a radio interview with Nabokov. An addition to the collection contains letters from Nabokov to Princess Zinaïda Schakovskoy and Gleb Struve. Oversize material consists of Nabokov's diploma from the University of Cambridge and passports and related material removed from the Miscellany series.
The collection is arranged in five series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79034082
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 23,205
Letters received and sent.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent, organization, or subject and chronologically therein.
Drafts, proofs, and printed versions of biographies, book reviews, essays, memoirs, novellas, novels, plays, poems, short stories, and translations of works by others as well as correspondence and notes.
Arranged alphabetically by type of writing, title, and type of material.
A diploma, drawing, interview, and passports and related material.
Arranged alphabetically by name of organization or type of material and chronologically therein.
Letters received and sent.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and chronologically therein.
A diploma, passports, and related material.
Arranged and described according to the series and container from which the material was removed.