James Bond First Editions

The Spider's Touch.

WILLIAMS, Valentine (1883-1946).

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1936. [Espionage novel]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.313; [7]. Secondary binding of blue cloth with black titles (trimmed, W.H. Smith library style), illustrated dust-jacket priced at 7/6. Contents clean, owner stamps to endpapers, jacket cropped to fit binding, square section excised from spine. Remains presentable. A serviceable copy of a scarce pre-war thriller. Mystery featuring the series detective 'Clubfoot' (Dr. Adolph Grunt, the German master spy). Author Williams was awarded the Military Cross during the Great War, and was one of the earliest accredited war reporters. Post-war he travelled widely as Foreign editor at the Daily Mail, reporting the biggest events of the day such as the Versailles Peace Conference and the rediscovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. In 1926 he pursued a full-time career as a novelist, but joined the British Secret Service at the outbreak of WWII, vetting new recruits such as Kim Philby and Malcolm Muggeridge. From the Jon Gilbert collection of spy literature. Item #68166

Price: £100.00