Ian Fleming | Live And Let Die, 1954, first edition, first issue, first state, inscribed by the author, with signed limited edition watercolour by Kenneth Lewis

Ian Fleming

Live and Let Die. London: Jonathan Cape, 1954.

8vo, FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, FIRST STATE, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ("For | The King of Diamonds | This | Incomparable Gem! | from | Ian Fleming | July 1954") on front free endpaper, original black cloth, lettered in gilt, design to upper board in gilt, original dust-jacket by Kenneth Lewis, housed in bespoke black cloth case with embossed dust-jacket design and maroon sides, light staining to foredge, dust-jacket clipped at front flap, slightly frayed at extremities, and with some spotting and browning to the inside

[with:]

LIMITED EDITION WATERCOLOUR SIGNED BY LEWIS (NO. 004 OF 009 PRODUCED) reflecting the artwork of the dust-jacket loosely inserted in volume, plus plastic wallet containing related ephemera loosely inserted in case (list of ephemera available upon request). FOR OTHER LIMITED EDITION WATERCOLOURS SIGNED BY LEWIS, see lots 107 and 110.

BOLDLY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. As Fleming had a number of contacts connected to the diamond trade, the identity of his mysterious "King of Diamonds" cannot be known for definite. However, a strong candidate is Harry Abrahams, Chairman of De Beers' Diamond Corporation, who met the author in Hatton Garden in 1954, reportedly gifting him a diamond; this copy may well have been a part of Fleming’s thank you, hence his ironic dedication: "This Incomparable Gem!".

Live and Let Die is the second book in Fleming's Bond series.

LITERATURE:

Gilbert A2a (1.1); for Fleming's relationship with Harry Abrahams: John Pearson, The Life of Ian Fleming (London, 1966), pp. 251-2.