James Bond First Editions, Signed!
New arrivals this month include incredible first edition James Bond books. Ian Fleming’s massively popular series started with his first book Casino Royale. We just acquired a first American edition of the highly collectable and desirable Casino Royale, which includes a signature by Ian Fleming himself. Shop this first edition and many more on our website.
Author Ian Fleming (1908–1964) was an intelligence officer, journalist, and creator of the fictional British Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond. Beginning in 1939, Fleming himself served as a liaison between the Navy and the other secret services, where he was privy to the highest levels of intelligence. Fleming soon became known for his creativity in planning operations, which inspired his later novels. After World War II, he switched careers and became a journalist. In 1953, he published his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. It was a success, and Fleming wrote a new book each year until his death in 1964.
One reason why Bond became so popular was due to Fleming’s real-life connection to the spy tales. Fleming drew from personal experiences for his work, as well as his runaway imagination. With the first release, Casino Royale, Fleming’s success encouraged him to continue writing. He spent two months per year in his vacation home in Jamaica, strictly writing, supposedly without correcting or second-guessing his work.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Fleming remarked;
"When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument ... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, [James Bond] is the dullest name I ever heard."
However, the Bond character took on a life of his own. The Bond series has been portrayed on screen in 26 productions, all starting with Sean Connery as Bond in 1962. The franchise took off from there, with Bond portrayed by tall, dark, and handsome actors on the big screen.
Casino Royale is considered the most collectable Bond book, given that it was Fleming's first. First editions are understandably hard to come by, so we were thrilled to find this Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, First US Edition, Signed. 
This first edition of Goldfinger is equally as collectable. The first US edition book is signed by Ian Fleming himself in blue ink. The seventh book in Ian Fleming’s internationally acclaimed James Bond series, Goldfinger was received more positively than its predecessor, Dr. No, and was heralded as “a superlative thriller from our foremost literary magician” (New York Herald Tribune).
Take a look at all of our available James Bond original novels here.
