# Is "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (The Olympia Press, 1955) is identified by: Two volumes in pea-green printed wrappers, issued in Olympia Press's Traveller's Companion Series as No. The Paris Olympia two-volume set (September 1955, 5,000 copies) is the true world first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Two volumes in pea-green printed wrappers, issued in Olympia Press's Traveller's Companion Series as No
- 66 — a single series number carried by BOTH volumes (not two separate numbers)
- Copyright page reads 'Copyright 1955 by V. Nabokov and The Olympia Press.' Volume one runs to about 188 pp, volume two to about 223 pp
- The true first issue has 'Francs: 900' printed at the foot of the rear wrapper of each volume, with no price sticker, stamp, or erasure over it
- Publisher imprint reads The Olympia Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Vladimir Nabokov |
| Publisher | The Olympia Press |
| Year | 1955 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Two volumes in pea-green printed wrappers, issued in Olympia Press's Traveller's Companion Series as No |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Two volumes in pea-green printed wrappers, issued in Olympia Press's Traveller's Companion Series as No. 66 — a single series number carried by BOTH volumes (not two separate numbers). Copyright page reads 'Copyright 1955 by V. Nabokov and The Olympia Press.' Volume one runs to about 188 pp, volume two to about 223 pp. The true first issue has 'Francs: 900' printed at the foot of the rear wrapper of each volume, with no price sticker, stamp, or erasure over it.

## Is this the true first?
The Paris Olympia two-volume set (September 1955, 5,000 copies) is the true world first. Later copies of the same edition were repriced to 1,200 francs — usually by a sticker or overstamp covering the 900-franc figure — so a clean, un-obscured 'Francs: 900' marks the first issue. The US first is G. P. Putnam's Sons (1958); the UK first is Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, November 1959). The two-volume Paris wrappers precede both.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Any copy showing the 1,200-franc price — printed, stickered, or overstamped over the 900 — is a later state, not the first issue. Any single-volume English-language copy is a later edition (Putnam, Weidenfeld, or a reprint), not the Olympia two-volume first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Lolita* by Vladimir Nabokov a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/lolita
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.