James Bond First Editions

The Spy Who Loved Me.

FLEMING, Ian Lancaster (1908-1964).

New York, NY: The Viking Press, 1962. [Thriller] FIRST U.S. EDITION, INSCRIBED ASSOCIATION COPY, presented to Al Hart, the author's American publisher and editor. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.211; [5], blank. Publisher's salmon-coloured cloth blocked in brown to spine, brown endpapers, tinted top edge, pictorial jacket illustrated by Richard Chopping, priced at $3.95. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: "To Al. 'Seulement le nom, Monsieur Proust. Seulement le nom. Surtout pas de pensées' ['Only the name, Mr Proust. Only the name. Above all, no thoughts'], From Ian". Spine ends bumped, top edge lightly foxed; jacket unclipped, rubbed and slightly foxed, a few surface abrasions to spine and extremities, small nicks to extremities: a very good copy in very good jacket. Fleming and Hart first met in 1953: Fleming had just published Casino Royale, and Hart was working for Macmillan, who had bought the American rights to the novel and any subsequent instalments in the series. Hart became Fleming's editor for the first seven books he published in America, as well as "his crony, confidant, and drinking companion on all his subsequent visits to New York" (Pearson, p. 231). Hart made several changes to the series when it was published in the US. For the first paperback edition of Casino Royale, Hart changed the title to the pulp-sounding You Asked for It, writing to Fleming to explain: "the Great Unwashed won't know how to pronounce 'Royale'. If You Asked for It turns your stomach bright green, it might be a good idea to suggest an alternative title or titles" (quoted in Pearson, p. 249). For the Macmillan edition of Live and Let Die, Hart deleted several passages he thought racially insensitive; Fleming approved the changes and adopted the amended version for new editions. Even after Fleming had switched publishers from Macmiollan to Viking, he sought Hart's advice and continued to present copies of his books. The Spy Who Loved Me was last Fleming novel to be published by the Viking Press, featuring a slightly amended version of Chopping's design for the British jacket. Item #71696

Gilbert A10b (1). Pearson, John. The Life of Ian Fleming, 1966. Offered in partnership with Peter Harrington, London.

Price: £20,000.00