Jonathan Cape, London, 1954
First Edition, First Printing of LIVE AND LET DIE with a beautiful clean book and a stunning Near Fine First edition, First Printing Second state dust jacket.
Beautiful clean book with a scarce NEAR FINE First Printing dust jacket in the second of the three states of the first printing (with the Kenneth Lewis Blurb Floating in the lower area of the front flap). Live and Let Die is the Second book in the James Bond series, after Casino Royale.
Original crisp black covered boards in beautiful condition with sharp corners and no edgewear. The gilt medallion and titles are slightly oxidized/faded as it typical for this title. The binding is tight and square. The end papers are clean and bright with No owner names, No inscriptions, No bookstore stamps and No bookplates, with one very tiny nick to edge. The internal pages are crisp, clean and bright with No stains, No writing, No bent pages, No torn pages, No foxing and No age toning. An unusually clean, crisp, tidy example of this elusive first edition, first impression Fleming book with no issues. Please see images for details.
The book comes with a stunning, vibrant, near fine, original first edition dust jacket in the second state. Images in the listing were taken both with and without a dust jacket protector for better viewing. Three states of the true first edition dust jacket were printed for LIVE AND LET DIE, all 3 states of the first edition jacket look identical with the exception of the one sentence credit statement to the dust jacket designer located on the inside front flap. Very scarce and collectible, (First edition, first state books typically are priced from $20,000-$30,000 due to their scarcity with estimations of only 500 printed in the first state– and have no Kenneth Lewis ‘credit’ statement; second and third states have the credit statement, with the third state having the credit statement just below the text, and the second state having the credit statement floating in the lower white space of the inside flap). This dust jacket is the first edition, second state dust jacket and has benefited from very slight restoration to the tip of the spine by an expert paper conservator and presents as a near fine example. The dust jacket is in stunning, vibrant condition with no edgewear, no rips, no chips, no stains, no rubbing, and no foxing. The rear panel is usually bright for this title with only a slight touch of toning. The dust jacket is neatly priced clipped to the front, and NOT price clipped to the rear flap which has the stated price of 10s. 6d. net. Please see the many detailed images.
A very handsome, clean example of this scarce title and perfect for the Fleming collector who is looking for a beautiful first edition, first impression of Live And Let Die with an original striking first edition, second state dust jacket! Presents beautifully on the shelf, in addition to making a wonderful investment.
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