Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0006306, Wed, 9 Jan 2002 09:45:16 -0800

Subject
Answers to QUERY re Attacus moth in "Christmas"]
Date
Body
EDITOR's NOTE: Dieter Zimmer's butterfly book, cited below, is the best
reference for any VN butterfly allusion. It is available directly from
the author. Check his personal web site for details.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: QUERY re Attacus moth and chess in "Christmas"
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2002 08:23:39 +0100
From: "Dieter E. Zimmer" <mail@d-e-zimmer.de>
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
CC: <stan_milkowsky@HOTMAIL.COM>
References: <3C3B9269.E8A6C017@gte.net>



----------------- Message requiring your approval (20 lines) ------------------
There is a picture and a brief description of the Atlas Moth in my "Guide to
Nabokov's Butterflies and Moths 2001", but that won't be available in
Nizhni-Novgorod. However, the Nabokov Museum in St. Petersburg has a copy.
The moth probably will not figure in any of the Russian lepidoptera guides,
neither past nor present, as its natural habitat is the Indian and South
East Asian fauna zone. (However, it always was a favorite among butterfly
breeders worldwide so its presence in "Christmas" is not astonishing.) The
source to look for is an older book on moths in general, for instance the
appropriate volume of the Seitz series. There is a book by Josef Moucha and
Frantisek Prochazka on "The most beautiful moths" published by Artia,
Prague, in 1966 that has subsequently been published in several languages,
among them English and German. A copy of it may have found its way into some
Nizhni-Novgorod library. The huge Atlas Moth is on page 67.
Dieter E. Zimmer
Hamburg, Germany, January 9, 2002 -8:15am
mail@d-e-zimmer.de
Homepage www.d-e-zimmer.de





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