JAMES BOND
FACT FILES

Following their original hardcover publication by Jonathan Cape Limited, Ian Fleming's James Bond novels have been reissued by several other UK publishers as omnibus editions, and in a large-print format supplied exclusively to lending libraries. Nowadays hardcover editions are exclusively aimed at the collectors’ market, and produced in far fewer numbers than their paperback counterparts. The entire series was reissued in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the completion of CASINO ROYALE; and again in 2008 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth. More recently, most titles have been issued by The Folio Society as special slip-cased editions, accompanied by lavish colour illustrations by Fay Dalton.

In addition to the versions published by Jonathan Cape, there were several James Bond omnibus editions printed in hardcover by other publishers who licensed the rights from Glidrose Productions Limited (the company formed by Ian Fleming in 1952 to hold the literary publishing rights to his works). Jonathan Cape had released their own James Bond omnibus containing three novels in 1973, and this was followed five years later by a budget priced edition containing six novels. A second version was issued in 1984 under the St Michael imprint for sale in exclusively in Marks & Spencer department stores. The reissue version had a dust jacket featuring a still of Sean Connery as James Bond from the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever, although this novel was not featured in the collection. Also in 1984 Chancellor Press issued a hardcover omnibus of DR. NO paired with FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE. The glossy photographic dust jacket featured a colour still of Ursula Andress from Dr. No (1962). A second version with glazed binding and without a separate dust-wrapper was also published for supply to public libraries, making the book easier to clean. In 1985 a second six-novel omnibus was published by William Heinemann Limited with a different collection of novels to their 1978 version. A variant version was also published in 1985 under the title ‘The Best of James Bond’ but without a dust-wrapper and had a simple text only cover priced at £9.95. Chancellor Press published their final James Bond omnibus in November 1994 containing the same six novels as the 1978 collection. Featuring film poster-themed artwork credited to ‘Faba’ on the glazed pictorial boards, this edition was exported in large numbers.

Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories were also issued as large-print editions in the UK, and supplied exclusively to lending libraries to aid visually impaired readers. Copies are still widely available on the second-hand market, but most will have institutional stamps or markings. Many copies will have the dust jacket laminated to the boards, as was common with most books issued by lending libraries.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the completion of CASINO ROYALE, Viking/Penguin Books Limited issued hardback editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories, with new wraparound dust jackets artwork. Issued simultaneously with identical paperback editions, the hardcover versions had detachable dust jackets featuring abstract photography by Toby McFarland Pond.

The wraparound dust jackets have a high gloss finish with the titles printed in metallic ink, and the name ‘JAMES BOND’ appearing at the bottom of each jacket, matt laminated and embossed. The hardcover editions were limited to just 1,000 copies for each title, and are now highly collectible. This publication marks the first time THE PROPERTY OF A LADY and 007 IN NEW YORK appeared together in a UK hardcover edition as part of the OCTOPUSSY AND THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS anthology. The short story 007 IN NEW YORK was originally first published in the New York Herald Tribune in October 1963 as ‘Agent 007 in New York’, but was subsequently renamed 007 IN NEW YORK and included the 1964 US edition of Thrilling Cities - a collection of travelogues written by Ian Fleming in 1959/60; whilst THE PROPERTY OF A LADY had made its hardback debut in The Ivory Hammer: The Year at Sotheby’s, 219th Season 1962-1963, it had been included in all paperback editions of OCTOPUSSY AND THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS since 1967.

For the Centenary of James Bond author Ian Fleming's birth in 2008, Penguin Books chose to reissue all 14 volumes in hardcover editions; with striking dust jackets by designed by Jon Gray (gray318), featuring the illustrations of Swansea-born San Francisco based artist Michael Gillette. Jon Gray's original design was inspired by the film poster artwork for Casino Royale (1967) by Robert McGinnis, featuring a stylised image of a girl seen from behind with text wrapping around her body. The linking theme for the 2008 Centenary editions retained the Bond-Girl motif, with each cover was assigned a different colour to create a diverse range of moods within the concept. Unfortunately several of the covers are compromised by having their titles broken up to fit into the space available across the girl's back.

The Centenary editions were printed in larger numbers than the Anniversary series (the first six titles had a print run of 4,000; whereas the remaining titles were reduced to 3,500), and UK copies were also sold in Canada, priced at $25. The spines for each cover featured a different silhouette of a girl, with the rear cover printing a quote from the book set against the same solid colour dominant on the cover. The spines also show the ‘Penguin 007’ logo seen on the cover, and are also numbered sequentially from #1 to #14. The series was issued in hardcover in Germany with amended just jacket art to reflect the German translation of the titles. The German series was expanded to include COLONEL SUN in 2014, and ten John Gardner titles 2014-2017, all illustrated in the same style by Michael Gillette. THUNDERBALL and ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE utilised new artwork for the German editions published by Cross Cult in 2012. The Centenary series was later issued in paperback in a different order in the UK from April 23, 2009 with the original Michael Gillette covers.

The Folio Society, a privately owned London-based publisher founded by Charles Ede in 1947, are producers of illustrated hardback editions of classic fiction and non-fiction books, poetry and children's titles. Folio Society editions feature specially designed bindings and include artist-commissioned illustrations (most often in fiction titles) or researched artworks and photographs (in non-fiction titles). Most editions come with their own hard slip-case. Folio titles can be only purchased online through the company website, although some editions are stocked by independent bookstores, including Selfridges, Harrods and Hatchards in London. In 2007 The Folio Society published a standalone edition of LIVE AND LET DIE (with an introduction by British author Ken Follett), featuring new illustrations by English artist Lyndon Hayes (born 1975), who had provided the artwork for the UK printed debut of Ian Fleming's short story 007 IN NEW YORK published in the Sunday Times Magazine Supplement on November 7, 1999.

The Folio Society resumed the series in November 2015 with CASINO ROYALE, this time illustrated by acclaimed London-based artist Fay Dalton, who combines traditional drawing and painting methods with digital painting. Dalton has illustrated all titles in the same style, including the 2019 reissue of LIVE AND LET DIE. The Folio Society Ian Fleming hardcover editions have been published in no particular order semi-annually since October 2016, and are slightly larger (9" X 6¼" approx) than the Octavo sized (8" X 5½" approx) Jonathan Cape first edition originals. To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the publication of CASINO ROYALE, The Folio Society issued a special limited edition of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel in May 2023. Housed in a clamshell box and priced at £500, the book is bound in blocked leather and limited to just 750 copies, each numbered by hand and signed by the artist Fay Dalton. Award-winning novelist Kim Sherwood, chosen by Ian Fleming Publications to expand the world of James Bond with three new novels, has contributed an introduction exclusive to this Folio limited edition.

In November 2017 Vintage UK published new three hardback editions of CASINO ROYALE, LIVE AND LET DIE and GOLDFINGER. The new editions featured introductions by James Bond historian and documentary filmmaker John Cork, and cover artwork by Levente Szabó. The editions are wrapped in eye-catching new covers designed by Budapest-based graphic designer and illustrator Levente Szabó, whose work includes projects for BAFTA and the Hungarian Design Council. The cover illustrations cleverly pull together different characters and plot lines from the novels to form a dramatic silhouette. As well as designing the books’ covers, Szabó produced decorative endpapers for the editions which provide an additional special flourish.

On September 17, 2024 Ian Fleming Publications announced a special edition of CASINO ROYALE featuring gilt-silver sprayed edges. Limited to 250 copies, the hardback Collector’s Edition [pictured above] priced at £24.00 sold out within 48 hours of being available exclusively via the IFP website. A second Collector's Edition of 250 copies of GOLDFINGER [ROLLOVER image above] with gilt-gold sprayed edges, also priced at £24.00, went on sale on November 14, 2024.

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