Thunderball by Ian Fleming, First Edition, in Original Dust Jacket, 1961

Fleming, Ian. Thunderball. London: Jonathan Cape, 1961. First edition, first printing. Octavo. In the original publisher’s black cloth boards, with embossed skeleton hand to front and gilt titles to spine. Original dust jacket with skeleton hands, knife, and playing cards design on front. Presented with a new archival ¼ leather and cloth clamshell case.   

This is a first edition, first printing of Ian Fleming’s ninth Bond novel, Thunderball. The book was published by Jonathan Cape in London, in 1961 with an initial print run of 50,000 copies. It is presented here in the publisher’s original black cloth boards, embossed with a skeleton hand and gilt titles to the spine. The book is in the original unclipped dust jacket, with skeleton hand, knife, and playing cards motif, as designed by Richard Chopping. The book is presented with a new, archival ¼ leather and cloth clamshell case. 

Thunderball features the first appearance of the super-spy’s memorable nemesis, Ernst Blofeld, whose theft of two nuclear warheads threatens the world. “Thunderball represented a new departure [for the Bond series], with the introduction of Spectre and of Ernst Blofeld, a commanding villain who was to reappear. This gave a measure of continuity to the later Bond novels… Thunderball worked well as an adventure story… the theme of the theft of atom bombs seemed pertinent and modern”.

As he had in From Russia, With Love (1957) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), Fleming considered permanently doing away with his super-spy character: “I shall definitely kill off Bond with my next book—better a poor bang than a rich whimper!” Bond, of course, survives this adventure. Due to credit and rights controversy, this book was adapted twice as a movie: under the present title in 1965 and as Never Say Never Again in 1983, both times starring Sean Connery; in the 1965 film Claudine Auger played Domino.

Ian Fleming (1908–1964) was an intelligence officer, journalist, and creator of the fictional British Secret service agent James Bond. Beginning in 1939, he served as a liaison between the Navy and the other secret services, where he was privy to the highest levels of intelligence and became known for his creativity in planning operations, work that inspired his later novels. After the war, Fleming became a journalist and in 1953 published his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. It was a success, and Fleming wrote a new book each year until his untimely death in 1964.

CONDITION:

Very good condition. In the original publisher’s black cloth boards, with an embossed skeleton hand on the front and gilt titles to the spine. Boards in great condition, with gilt intact and no splitting. Original publisher’s dust jacket, with skeleton hand, knife, and playing cards motifs, as designed by Richard Chopping. Dust jacket is unclipped, with 15s net. Dust jacket is in very good condition, with virtually no wear along the front cover and only a repaired small tear along the spine. Colors are still quite vibrant. Pages are healthy and unmarked. Light foxing along the fore edge, but no foxing on interior pages. 

The book is housed in a new archival ¼ leather and cloth clamshell case. Clamshell’s spine has raised bands, gilt tooling, and gilt titles. The front of the clamshell features an inlaid image of the original dust jacket art. Interior of the clamshell has an embossed Ian Fleming facsimile signature stamp.

Book Dimensions:  7 3/4" H x 5 1/8" W x 1" D. Clamshell Dimensions: 8 7/8 " H x 6 3/8" W x 1 7/8" D.

Accompanied by the company's letter of authenticity.