James Bond First Editions

Sinners and Shrouds.

LATIMER, Jonathan (1906-1983).

London: Methuen, 1956. [Hard-boiled crime novel] FIRST UK EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.223; [1], blank. Publisher's black cloth titled to spine in yellow in illustrated dust-wrapper by Pat Marriott. SIGNED and inscribed by Latimer on a bookplate to "A friend in Devon..." (Eileen Cond; noted correspondent of the great and the good including of course, Ian Fleming). Light spotting to edges and rear panel, price clipped, but essentially a bright, near fine copy. A Sam Clay mystery, in which our hero wakes up and encounters that perennial problem of the heavy drinking journalist; a corpse in his bed. Recipient Eileen Cond was well-known as a prominent collector of thrillers, also a correspondent of Ian Fleming, Dennis Wheatley and Berkely Mather, among others, and the first Secretary to the James Bond Fan Club. Jacket artist Pat Marriott illustrated three book jackets for Ian Fleming. Later part of the comprehensive bibliographical archive assembled by Jon Gilbert, with his pencilled ownership. His encyclopaedic guide to the works of Ian Fleming (2012) won the 16th Breslauer Prize for bibliography. Item #68077

Price: £295.00