PASTERNAK BORIS Doctor Zhivago

Sale 2247 - Lot 315

Unsold

Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800

PASTERNAK, BORIS. Doctor Zhivago. Russian text. 8vo, original pale green paper boards lettered in black; gentle creasing to lower outer corners of first quarter of contents, some soiling to edges; dust jacket, spine panel toned, ends chipped, additional chipping to folds and tips, with a cellotape repair to rear fold verso, scattered light creasing, thin ink mark to front panel; owner's contemporary inscription on front endpaper. Milan: Feltrinelli, [1958]

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scarce first authorized trade edition in russian. Pasternak's famous tale of spiritual isolation and love during the Russian Revolution was rejected for publication in his native Soviet Union. After a number of unauthorized Russian editions in Europe and America, Feltrinelli first printed it in Italian translation by Pietro Zveteremich and then this true first edition in Russian. Under international law, Doctor Zhivago was considered an Italian publication and copyright remained with Feltrinelli. Its publication in the West led to great acclaim and earned Pasternak the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, which unleashed a bitter official Soviet campaign against Pasternak, forcing him to reject the award. Drabble 742.