Collecting James Bond First Editions

The Cataloguer's Desk is here to help.

From the piece...

Ian Fleming’s James Bond titles are some of the most popular spy thrillers ever written. They’re also beautifully designed books that look great as a set, and they’re a fun and accessible starting point for those interested in collecting modern literature.

Unlike some authors with complex publishing histories, Ian Fleming is straight-forward and his first editions are easy to identify. He wrote 14 James Bond books, all of which were published by Jonathan Cape in London between 1953 and 1966. There are only two simple rules to identify a Fleming first edition:

* the novel should say Jonathan Cape on the title page
* and it should state “First published…” with the correct year (and no others) on the back of the title page.