James Bond First Editions

Thieves' Picnic [The Saint].

CHARTERIS, Leslie (1907-1993).

London: Hodder and Stoughton, [no date] c.1941. [Modern Literature] VINTAGE HARDCOVER REPRINT, Hodder and Stoughton Yellow Jacket edition. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.316. Publisher's red cloth lettered in black to spine, illustrated dust-jacket priced 2/6. Stickman illustration to title page. No inscriptions. Toning to cheap paper, endpapers spotted, jacket only lightly handled with minor wear to spine tips. Very good indeed. First published in 1937, this undated printing appeared c.1941, as the latest title listed is 'The Saint in Miami'. According to Paul Simpson (The Rough Guide to James Bond, p.47), 'The Saint' is a literary ancestor of 007, the debonair Simon Templar being a gentleman adventurer whose parallels with Bond are obvious. Item #68446

Price: £45.00