"Outside of a dog, man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
— Groucho Marx
Ian Fleming | First Editions
1908 - 1964
See below for our world-leading stock of Ian Fleming first editions, signed first editions, fine bindings, sets, association copies, letters, and other collectible material relating to Fleming and his famous creation, James Bond.
Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in Mayfair, London on 28th May 1908, the second of four brothers. He was schooled at Eton College and continued his education in Europe, studying languages in Kitzbuhel, Munich and Geneva. In the 1930's Fleming worked as both a merchant banker and a stockbroker, but it was at journalism (initially reporting for Reuters, then freelance) that he excelled. During World War II, with the rank of Commander, he worked as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence at the Admiralty in London, privy to many secrets. It was his experience in this role and his earlier escapades in Russia that were to inspire many of the plots and characters that would appear within his later novels. After the war Fleming dabbled in travel journalism and began writing instructional articles for his network of 'Mercury [news] Service' agents. In the late '40s he bought a property in Jamaica, where in early 1952 he settled down to write a novel. Casino Royale, the first James Bond adventure, was produced in just two months. The same successful routine was followed every year for the rest of his life, leading to a total of fourteen Bond books.
Ian Fleming
Queen Anne Press
Ian Fleming the Bibliography by Jon Gilbert
The Lilly Library
James Bond First Editions
The Ian Fleming Foundation
The James Bond Dossier
London: Jonathan Cape. 1965. FIRST EDITION. THE AUTHOR'S COPY, in a bespoke quarter leather binding of half red morocco, gilt, commissioned by the publisher for presentation to Amis. Obviously a unique copy, this was likely bound by Ian Fleming's own binder Arthur Last, the style matching closely the author's copies...
The Art of Bond.
London: Boxtree/Pan Macmillan, 2006. [Film design] FIRST EDITION. Square quarto (26 x 26cm), pp.240. Colour photographs throughout. Publisher's black cloth lettered in silver, black endpapers photographic dust-wrapper priced at £30rrp. A clean, near fine copy in a lightly used wrapper. Shows well. Sub-titled 'From the storyboard to screen: the creative...
The Art of Bond.
London: Boxtree/Pan Macmillan, 2006. [Film design] FIRST EDITION. Square quarto (26 x 26cm), pp.240. Colour photographs throughout. Publisher's black cloth lettered in silver, black endpapers photographic dust-wrapper priced at £30rrp. Some minor wear, a few marks to wrapper. Near fine. Sub-titled 'From the storyboard to screen: the creative process behind...
All Night at Mr. Stanyhurst's. Introduced by Ian Fleming.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. [Historical Fiction] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.xx; 7-197; [1], blank. Publisher's smooth cloth-effect paper over boards, with gilt titles to the spine, top edge tinted orange, in pictorial dust-wrapper. A lightly used copy, jacket with some wear and tear, soiling to rear panel...
All Night at Mr. Stanyhurst's.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1933. [Modern fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.197; [1]. Publisher's burgundy bookcloth, blocked in yellow to the spine, in the pictorial dustwrapper illustrated by Eric Fraser. 'Times Book Club' ticket to rear pastedown. A little bumped and marked, jacket with a few small nicks and...
Introduces Jamaica. Edited by Morris Cargill.
Andre Deutsch, London 1965. First Impression, First State. Pp.240, illustrated thoughout with colour plates. Publisher's hardcover in dustjacket. A near fine copy, but for some edgewear and an unfortunate bump to the lower corner. This example however has been inscribed by the book's compiler Morris Cargill; SIGNED copies rarely appear...
Casino Royale.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1953. [Spy thriller] FIRST EDITION, Second Impression, Jacket 'A' (the first edition d/w, over-printed with the Sunday Times review). Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.218; [2], blank. Publisher's black cloth-effect paper over boards, decorated with heart motif to upper, lettered in red to spine. Pictorial dust-wrapper priced at...
Introduces Jamaica. Edited by Morris Cargill
London: Andre Deutsch, 1965. [Travel book] FIRST STATE without Editor's name printed on the jacket panels. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.240, illustrated throughout with colour plates, map endpapers printed in colour. Publisher's russet cloth hardcover, gilt titles, top edge ochre, in photographic dust-jacket, priced at 42s. Book is near fine...
The Diamond Smugglers.
London: Ian Fleming Publications Limited, 2009. SIGNED FIRST THUS, a new edition. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.116. SIGNED by Fergus Fleming in black ink to title page. Publisher's green cloth with silver titles to spine. With the pictorial dust-jacket, priced at £15. A fine as-new copy. Fleming's first non-Bond book...
The Diamond Smugglers.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1957. [True Crime] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.160. Illustrated with photographs. Elegantly hand-bound in half black calf over matching cloth sides, spine gilt-lettered in six compartments with raised bands. Some occasional browning within; externally unmarked. A very good copy in an attractive recent leather binding...
The Diamond Smugglers.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1957. [True Crime] FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.160. Illustrated with photographs. Publisher's black cloth with white titles to the spine in original dust-jacket illustrated by Denis Piper. Contents fine, page edges toned, jacket very lightly edgeworn, spine a shade toned/sunned, price-clipped. A clean...
![[FLEMING, Ian] PORTRAIT OF IAN FLEMING BY AMHERST VILLIERS. Ian / Bondiana FLEMING.](/pictures/thumb/52568.jpg?v=1539608054)
[FLEMING, Ian] PORTRAIT OF IAN FLEMING BY AMHERST VILLIERS.
no place, no date [printed 2012]. A limited edition giclée print of the only formal portrait of Ian Fleming, painted in 1962 by Charles Amherst Villiers. The painting was then used as a frontispiece to the signed limited edition On Her Majesty's Secret Service, published by Jonathan Cape in 1963...
James Bond. The Paradise Plot. Original Comic Strip artwork, signed by the Illustrator.
Copyright, Glidrose 1981-2. A three-strip panel, being board number 256 drawn in pen and ink on artboard, with pasteover sections of text. Twice SIGNED by John McLusky, firstlly beneath central illustration and again, to revese side, together with adoodled '007' motif, below his 6-linehand-written description. In a simple matt black...
Nature Cure Explained.
London: Health for All Publishing Co., [1950]. FIRST EDITION. Pp.[1-8] 9-185, [3]. Publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in with black. Pages toned, jacket with a few small nicks and tears; a most presentable copy. Very good overall. An important 'James Bond' source book (and an elusive book in jacket in...
Yours Ever Ian Fleming.
New Zealand: Privately Published (Printed by Printhouse Nelson) 1994. [Letters] FIRST (and only) EDITION. Softcover original, pp.112. Printed correspondence between 'James Bond' creator Ian Fleming and Intelligence officer Antony Terry, "one of his most trusted reporters who provided valuable source materials for the 007 novels" (Gilbert, p.652). Compiled by Terry's...
The Centenary Edition of the Works of Ian Fleming.
London: Queen Anne Press 2008. LIMITED EDITION in Vellum over cloth sides, one of just 100 copies. 18 volumes, octavo. The definitive edition of Ian Fleming, issued to commemorate the birth of the author; no such edition has been published before. The Queen Anne Press was created by Lord Kemsley...
The Complete James Bond Novels in Miniature. Comprising: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories inc. From A View To A Kill, Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories).
Somerset: Dateman Books 2008. 14 volumes; All First (and only) impressions. Publisher's hardcover in illustrated dustjacket, with collector card in clear sleeve. All fourteen book packs housed in an elegant custom-made half black leather collector's box, with individual book compartments and felt-lining. Each book has been hand-bound and reprints the...
Complete Set of First Editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond Novels The Works comprise: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories containing From A View To A Kill and Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesties Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights.
London: Jonathan Cape 1953-1966. 14 volumes; octavo. FIRST IMPRESSIONS, with a leaf SIGNED BY IAN FLEMING included in the first title. Beautifully bound in full deep red oasis morocco with gilt raised bands and gilt titles to spines, '007 device blocked in gilt to upper, gilt edges, black endpapers. Internally...
Diamonds are Forever.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1956. First Impression, Binding B. Octavo, 257pp. Publisher's black cloth, titled in silver, without jacket. Binding slightly worn to extremities, some spotting to page edges; very good indeed. Gilbert A4a (1.2).
![Dr. No [three copies in varying bindings]. Ian Lancaster FLEMING.](/pictures/thumb/42943.JPG?v=1493310919)
Dr. No [three copies in varying bindings]
London: Jonathan Cape 1958. FIRST EDITION, First Impressions. An example of each of the commercially available bindings used for the first impression, comprising FIRST STATE BINDING A, being plain black Linson material; FIRST STATE BINDING B, being plain black Fabroleen material; and the SECOND STATE BINDING, being black Fabroleen material...
From Russia, With Love (a James Bond novel)
London: Jonathan Cape. 1957, FIRST EDITION, First Impression, Binding A, an ASSOCIATION COPY. Pp.253. Publisher's cloth-effect paper over boards in pictorial dust-wrapper illustrated by Richard Chopping. A used copy but with no significant defects; jacket darkened to spine, rubbed to joints with some chips and tears. Preserved in a clamshell...
A James Bond Omnibus Containing Live and Let Die, Diamonds are Forever and Dr No
London: Jonathan Cape 1973. Pp748. FIRST CAPE EDITION of the first James Bond omnibus to be published in the UK. Publisher'scloth-effect paper over boards, blocked in gilt to the spine, in the metallic-effect dust-wrapper printed in black and red. No inscriptions or price-clipping. A used copy with some expected wear...
Live and Let Die
London: Jonathan Cape. 1959. Hardcover reprint. AN INSCRIBED ASSOCIATION COPY. Publisher's black, gilt-embossed cloth-effect paper over boards, in purple dustwrapper. Minor wear, a little bumped, jacket with some wear to extremities, rubbed to joints. Very good. SIGNED by the author to the flyleaf. This copy is from the library of...
The Man With the Golden Gun.
New York: The New American Library, 1965. FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.183. Publisher's hardcovers, stamped in gilt and colours with golden gun motif boldly blocked to all three panels, dust-jacket with die-cut bullet holes to upper. This is the correct binding with the code number gilt-stamped to...
The Man With the Golden Gun.
New York: The New American Library, 1965. FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.183; [1]. Publisher's hardcovers, stamped in gilt and colours with golden gun motif boldly blocked to all three panels, dust-jacket with die-cut bullet holes to upper. This is the correct binding with the code number gilt-stamped...