Building an Ian Fleming book collection can be a daunting task. Fleming, the James Bond creator, is one of our most popular authors, popular with experienced and budding book collectors alike. The breadth of his output and the diversity of his books’ printings can make identifying a rare and special item challenging. James Bond is one of the most popular fiction series of all time, selling over 100 million books worldwide. Played by seven different actors, 007 has also been on screen twenty-seven times, including in one of 2021’s most anticipated and exciting releases, No Time to Die.
Amongst Ian Fleming rare books to be collected are found first editions, signed copies, personal inscriptions and time-defyingly preserved covers – each attribute adding not only monetary but also cultural value, along with a spark of excitement and inspiration for whomever handles such an important piece of history. From handwritten notes to significant design features, below, discover four of the most thrilling first edition James Bond books on Peter Harrington’s bookshelves.
On her Majesty’s Secret Service
In 1936 Fleming published On her Majesty’s Secret Service, the second novel that would feature evil mastermind Ernst Stavros Blofeld and his crime organisation Spectre as Bond’s central opponents. Academics have suggested that Fleming’s move away from his earlier “Cold War Stories”, in which 007 defeats counter-intelligence agencies formed by the Red Army, was the result of a real-life thaw in East-West geopolitics. The story also has emotional depth: Bond falls deeply in love with and marries Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, whose inevitable death is poignantly met by a rare emotional scene from 007. The screen version of On her Majesty’s Secret Service is likewise an outlier in the Bond series in its faithfulness to Fleming’s novel, as well as for its casting of relatively unknown actor George Lazenby, who chose to inhabit the character of 007 only once (all others have performed in the role at least twice). This is why, despite its comparative obscurity, die-hard Bond fans rate the film adaptation highly.
This presentation copy of On her Majesty’s Secret Service includes an inscription to Charles Amherst Villiers, the artist behind the portrait of Fleming which is reproduced for the book’s coloured frontispiece, commissioned by the author himself. This signed book is particularly rare in that it was not Fleming’s habit to further inscribe presentation copies of this edition; this is one of only two known exceptions.
Casino Royale
After writing his first thriller, Casino Royale, in 1952, Fleming bought himself a gold-plated typewriter. Such indulgence suits the image of the Eton-educated author who wrote the Bond novels largely from his 15-acre estate in Jamaica, aptly named Goldeneye; who had a scandalous affair with a viscountess, Lady Ann O’Neill (whom he would later marry); and who had an appetite for sexual subculture: “To Annie, // with love // and lashes,” read an inscription to his wife in a copy of From Russia, With Love – he was not referring to his or her fluttering eyes.
Casino Royale was an early success. 5,000 copies were sold in its first month and three print runs were required to meet demand. Fleming himself conceived of the hearts design of his first book cover, exceptionally preserved in the brightly coloured dust jacket of this remarkably rare book at Peter Harrington.
For Your Eyes Only
The first collection of short stories by Fleming, For Your Eyes Only was published in 1960. The book details “Five Secret Occasions in the Life of James Bond”, some of which were originally created as outlines for a television deal with production company CBS which they later dropped. This format was a departure from the full-length novels Fleming had produced since 1952 and reviews were mixed. Critics at sister publications The Guardian and The Observer approved of the new structure (the former preferring it to Fleming’s novelistic work); writers at The Spectator and The New York Times asserted – in a critique that had been levelled at Fleming before – that the tales were implausible and lacking in narrative. Perhaps most interestingly, a critic at the Times observed that “the mood of For Your Eyes Only is, in fact, a good deal more sober and, perhaps, weary than before,” an assessment echoed in 1996 by biographer Andrew Lycett, who saw in the internal monologues of 007 a reflection of “Ian’s mood of weariness and self-doubt” in the wake of earlier criticism of his work.
This first edition, first impression of For Your Eyes Only retains both the original dust jacket and distinctive binding. Both were designed by Richard Chopping, “a master of the trompe-l’œil technique, producing highly realistic three-dimensional images” (Salisbury Museum). Inspired and impressed by Chopping’s style, Fleming commissioned the illustrator to create the artwork for nine James Bond book covers between 1957 and 1966, which included the distinctive skull and rose design for Goldfinger.
The Spy Who Loved Me
The iconic cover of The Spy Who Loved Me was also designed by Chopping, who would go on to produce the artwork for 007 offshoots later written by Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, as well as the aforementioned original Bond novels. Fleming, who commissioned Chopping when he was still relatively unknown, described his collaboration with the artist in glowing terms: “No one in the history of thrillers has had such a totally brilliant artistic collaborator!” (qtd. by Turner, 2016).
This rare first edition, first impression presentation copy of The Spy Who Loved Me, first published in 1962, is inscribed by Fleming to the artist: “To Dickie in admiration! from Ian”; its front flap is also signed by Chopping. It is accompanied by a personal letter sent to Chopping on the 22nd June, 1961, in which he commissioned the jacket: “”My dear Dickie, The jacket season has come round again and I and do pray that you will once again be the artist… The title of the book is The Spy Who Loved Me and so what suggests itself of course is a juxtaposition between a dagger or a gun and an emblem representing love, rather on the lines of your gun with a rose… Anyway, first of all, will you please do the jacket and, secondly, will you please have a brilliant idea? Yours ever Ian.” This signed Ian Fleming book is a unique and tangible piece of Bond history.
Peter Harrington has discovered and stocked a wealth of signed Ian Fleming books, rare first editions and exciting James Bond ephemera including novels with insightful inscriptions and personal and professional signed letters. To explore our Ian Fleming rare book collection, visit our website or one of our London shops, where you’ll be met by an impassioned expert.
