Vladimir Nabokov's memoir Conclusive Evidence retailed for $3.00 when it was published in 1951. Chapter 6 is "Butterflies," which was originally published in The New Yorker. In 1952, the author, a lifelong lepidopterist, signed a copy for William James, Jr., and added a detailed drawing of a butterfly. This exquisite copy of the book, with James's printed name and Cambridge address, isavailable today from Whitmore Rare Books, Inc., of Pasadena, for $35,000.
Vladimir Nabokov AbeBooks listing accessed March 10, 2026
Note:Peter Kuper pays tribute to Nabokov's passion for butterflies in Insectopolis: A Natural History (2025). I photographed the original Nabokov artwork at his Society of Illustrators show here.
E. B. White was born one-hundred twenty years ago today on July 11, 1899. The Trumpet of the Swan, the last of his great trio of children's books, will turn fifty next year. Isabel Russell worked as secretary to White and his wife Katharine in Maine in the 1970s. In 1988, three years after White's death (Katherine had passed away in 1977), Russell published a memoir about the literary couple:
The Trumpet of the Swan dates from 1970, the year Russell began her work for the Whites. Her copy of the book is inscribed by White in the year of publication and is accompanied by a real rarity: an original published book illustration by White himself! New Yorker cartoonist Edward Frascino provided all the drawings in The Trumpet of the Swan save this one by White which appears on page 5 of the book. White, one of the talented writers who helped establish the fledgling New Yorker's towering reputation, occasionally dabbled in illustration. Nearly forty years earlier in 1932, White had published a single New Yorker cover:
His illustration in pencil for his own book isn't quite so fanciful or accomplished. The swan's neck and body don't seem to articulate quite right, for example. Still, out of respect for White's outstanding literary gifts, which included as keen an observation of nature as one could hope for, I think we should give him a pass.
E. B. White AbeBooks Listing Retrieved July 10, 2019
Note: My personal childhood reading included E. B. White'sCharlotte's Web and Stuart Little. I did not read The Trumpet of the Swan. More Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives: E. B. White Edward Frascino
On Wednesday evening, Roz Chast and Barry Yourgrau appeared in conversation together at Kinokuniya Bookstore just across the street from Bryant Park. Mr. Yourgrau is the author of Mess: One Man's Struggle to Clean Up His House and His Act (2015) and Ms. Chast is the author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? (2014). Both speakers have experienced the exasperation of dealing with clutter and understand how a lifetime's worth of accumulated objects can have a strong emotional resonance.
I have refrained from buying New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's memoir for more than a year, hoping to get a signed copy. While it was Ms. Chast I had gone to see, Mr. Yourgrau's comments were intelligent and insightful, and the discussion caused me to reflect on my own irrational attachment to my personal clutter. The discussion of collecting versus hoarding hit particularly close to home, as I hoped to confirm that I am a connoisseur rather than a psychopath. On this point, the conclusion might have been more reassuring...
Afterwards I met Ms. Chast and she signed a copy of her memoir for me. In the minute or two we had together, I learned that she had not heard of me or of this blog. Good to know. So I guess I can say here whatever I want about her part of the presentation.
She was awesome!
Roz Chast and Barry Yourgrau at Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York
Roz Chast and Barry Yourgrau at Kinokuniya Bookstore in New York
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? signed and inscribed by Roz Chast
Rob Chast.Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? New York: Bloomsbury, 2014
That very night a signed copy from the event appeared on eBay. Originally priced at $68 as I recall, it is now offered at $88 with a Make Offer option. That's more than I've documented this signed book going for, but it makes sense on some level. From a seller's perspective, I could see paying for two signed books–about $30 each with the sales tax—and selling one on eBay for double that or more. Then it would be like getting your own signed book for free. Of course, we don't know whether the eBay seller bergdorfgirl is keeping a personal copy, but I'd like to think so.
What does the buyer get for all that dough? Well, buying this one book at the event cost me $30 but there was also $30 in rush hour cab fare. It also cost me more than three hours' time door to door. If I were just interested in a signed book and not in attending the event, meeting Ms. Chast, and discovering her complete ignorance of this blog, I could just as well have bought the copy on eBay. I probably wouldn't have, but I could have.
Rob Chast.Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? New York: Bloomsbury, 2014
Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? signed by Roz Chast
"Things." Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
"Sheer Lunacy" Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
Roz Chast signs books for her fans at Kinokunia Bookstore
Last month I attended a signing event at a Manhattan Barnes & Noble for Bob Mankoff's new memoir How about Never--Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons. This is the first time I got to see the New Yorker's cartoon editor. It came amidst a major marketing blitz for the book which included a segment on "60 Minutes" just two days before. Mr. Mankoff spoke with candor and humor about cartoons, the New Yorker, and what he does for a living. I arrived ten minutes early and he was already addressing the audience.
Bob Mankoff's signing event at Barnes & Noble, 86th Street
When it was time to introduce myself at the signing, I could think of two major points that might be relevant to him. One was that I have been a finalist four times running in his Moment magazine Cartoon Caption Contest, although I have never been a winner. The other is that I am the perpetrator of this blog in which New Yorker cartoons are a frequent subject. Naturally, I decided to go with both.
This blog, it turns out, is not anywhere on Bob Mankoff's radar, at least not by name, and who could forget the name? So much for my status as a minor celebrity. The Moment Cartoon Caption Contest is, of course, his baby, although I would not expect any name recognition of the contest finalists. Whether my success as a finalist in four straight contests is a unique achievement I don't know. What I do know is that I am not a four time "winner" and may never win the contest at all. Nevertheless, that's what he inscribed; I have it in writing. It's actually nice to have the winning inscription, even if it is in error. Now Bob Mankoff has given me a brand new goal I can work towards: winning the Moment magazine Cartoon Caption Contest four times. Then his inscription will prove to have been prescient. I guess I'll keep you posted.
My copy of How About Never--Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons (2014) is inscribed with a self portrait "For Stephen/The 4 time/Moment cartoon /caption contest/winner!/Bob Mankoff." If only it were true!
Signed copies of the memoir were still available at the 86th Street Barnes & Noble when I last checked. They do not contain the self-portrait.
Barnes & Noble still had a stack of autographed copies on a recent visit.
A bookstore copy of How About Never--Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons (2014) with Bob Mankoff's signature.
May 4, 2014 Update: Signed copies of this book are sold out at the 86th Street Barnes & Noble.
May 20, 2014 Update: It's happened at last. I have won the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest for January/February 2014. Thus with one contest successfully under my belt, Bob Mankoff's book inscription has gone from being blatantly false to 25% correct. I suppose it's a good day for both of us.
Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Winning Caption for January/February 2014
May 9, 2015 Update: Good news again. My caption been voted the winner of the January/February 2015 contest, which officially brings me halfway to my goal of winning four times. Maybe Bob Mankoff knew what he was doing when he made his little "mistake."
Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Winning Caption for January/February 2015
September 12, 2015 Update: With my latest winning caption, the Mankoff Prophecy is 75% fulfilled. But this may be Bob Mankoff's last cartoon as he apparently hands over the cartooning reigns to Benjamin Schwartz.
Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Winning Caption for May/June 2015
April 7, 2016 Update: Two years after the book signing, the Mankoff Prophecy at last has been fulfilled. But the cartoonist is now Benjamin Schwartz. So does it still count?
Moment Cartoon Caption Contest Winning Caption for November/December 2015
Note: You can read more about the New Yorker's cartoon editor Bob Mankoffhereand, if you insist, here.
The history of my involvement in the Moment magazine Cartoon Caption Contest is in the archives here.
Posts in celebration of NationalLibrary Week may be found here.
