007 Values Still Growing - Bond for Booksellers & Collectors

- By Susan Halas

Fleming… Ian Fleming.

You would think after nearly 60 years the public would have tired of Bond …."James Bond"……. the suave secret agent created by Ian Fleming. It was after all a long time ago when 007 made his debut in Casino Royale, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape in 1953.

The title had a small first printing and got a decidedly modest reception, which did not deter Fleming from churning out a slim thriller every year from 1953 to 1966. In all, he produced fourteen titles - all with the Jonathan Cape imprint.

In the beginning they didn't set the world on fire. They sold slowly at home. Fleming's earnings from the first British edition of his first book were estimated at about $613.  The author's own evaluation of his first work - offered in correspondence with his English publisher was: "The dialogue, a lot of the description and the main characters are dreadfully banal and three quarter of the writing is informed with what I can only describe as vulgarity ... and so far as I can see the element of suspense is completely missing …."

Abroad US publishers eyed his work dubiously, and the first three who were offered Casino Royale turned it down. MacMillan finally accepted the book which sold fewer than 4,000 copies in America.

Not many US readers were early fans. But, a little nudge from mystery writer Raymond Chandler, the 1961 appearance of From Russia with Love on JFK’s reading list, and the 1962 movie release of Dr. No changed all that. And when it changed, it changed big time.

Never has such a slight beginning had such a long, spectacular and global run. For whatever the character created by Fleming was not: certainly not literature, certainly not a high water mark in the annals of espionage, James Bond was and is one of the biggest money makers of all time.

The books were only a prelude to the films, the music, the comics, the games, the cars, the liquor, the watches and a vast mini-industry of pop-culture biography and commentary which often combines the worst of academic writing with the worst of literary criticism. After Fleming's death other writers took up the brand and continue to churn out ever more grandiose versions of the formula where he left off.

Congruent with the Law of Unexpected Consequences the longevity and success of Bond juxtaposed with the scant supply of early British first editions in good condition has created a windfall in book values. Seldom has writing of such modest import produced such a spectacular return on investment.

007 Values Still Growing - Bond for Booksellers & Collectors

- By Susan Halas

Ian Fleming and James Bond's autographs.

So it seems at all price points Bond is alive and well. EBay and similar sites provide Fleming fans with a wide selection and plenty of action. At any given moment there are literally thousands of books offered, and an expanded search brings up movies, photos, posters and ephemera of all sorts. Even below ten dollars there is still plenty to choose from including postcards, paperbacks, odd bits and an occasional vintage dealer catalog.

For buyers it's a venue where patience and pickiness are rewarded. For sellers there is the assurance of steady and seemingly well informed demand - because while a lot of Fleming sells, a lot also sits untouched or sells for very little.

That may be because while almost everything in the world of Bond has some monetary worth, a lot of it is common, plentiful and not of high value. To make it even more interesting there are many pitfalls along the way to entice the unwary, including signatures of dubious provenance, facsimile dust jackets only mentioned in the 11th paragraph of the seller's description, books that  are either deliberately or inadvertently not what they seem because of  wrong publisher, wrong price on the dj, wrong paper, wrong dust jacket, or any combination of same.

But not genuine - or even not top-of-the-line - doesn't always mean worthless. A quick review of recent sales reveals that pirate editions have value. Variants have value. Early paperbacks have value. Comics have value. Book Club editions have value. Having the set complete in any edition has value. Related ephemera can have substantial value especially if it's signed. And most of all, authentic early dust jackets in almost any condition have value.

"The dust jacket is the key to everything," said Fleming bibliographer Lee Biondi, who 

was kind enough to talk to AE about Fleming and his work for this article. Biondi stressed the importance of the real dust jacket and emphasized that serious collectors are exceptionally picky about condition. To bring top dollar requires a pristine copy, one that like Bond himself, has been imperviousness to time and age. Such condition is also extremely elusive.

Biondi said he wrote his initial article and the follow up at the request of his FIRSTS publisher, not so much because he was interested in the work of Ian Fleming, but because it was a topic that readers wanted to know about. Both are a pleasure to read. His 1998 and 2008 bibliography and commentary are both available in magazine format from FIRSTS at $10 each including shipping. www.firsts.com

Biondi’s 2nd article, the 2008 Fleming update, is also available on request as a pdf file with the generous permission of the author. Put the numerals 007 in the subject line and email to  halas@hawaii.rr.com to receive a complimentary copy.

If my own experience is any indication, boning up on Ian Fleming is the most fun you’ll ever have with bibliography and an introduction to a market with real legs and one that will go on for some time. I'll pass along Biondi's recommendation - if you're only going to read one, try From Russia with Love.  What the next century will think of  Ian Fleming and how their values will stand up in a hundred years is anyone's guess; Biondi thinks they may well be viewed as "historical" fiction though he doesn't go quite so far as to project an ardent following.

For the present, while it doesn’t exactly qualify as shooting fish in a barrel, buying and selling the exploits of 007 is a bookish pursuit that can prove entertaining and profitable.

Susan Halas writes about books and the book business for AE Monthly. Reach her at halas@hawaii.rr.com