Ian Fleming | Casino Royale, 1953, first edition

Ian Fleming

Casino Royale. London: Jonathan Cape, 1953

8vo, FIRST EDITION, FIRST IMPRESSION, second issue, with overprinted Sunday Times review to inner flap, original black cloth, lettered in red, design to upper cover in red, DUST-JACKET, collector's black cloth clamshell box, some very minor wear to head and foot of dust-jacket and light spotting to rear cover

First edition, first impression, second issue in jacket of the author's first novel, and the debut James Bond title, written by Fleming in early 1952 at Goldeneye, his tropical hideaway on Jamaica's north shore. "Of the conception of this most famous of debuts Fleming repeatedly said that it was written to take his mind off his forthcoming marriage yet as early as the end of the war, following his decommission from a successful career in Naval Intelligence, Fleming had told Ivar Bryce that he would settle down to write 'the spy novel to end all spy novels'..." (Gilbert, Fleming: The Bibliography, p. 16)

Gilbert notes that of 4,728 copies printed, 1,728 were the second issue.

LITERATURE

Gilbert A1a (1.2)