Raymond Benson Hardback Arrives

Today I received a first edition hardback of Raymond Benson's last James Bond adventure "The Man With The Red Tattoo" published in 2002 by Hodder and Stoughton.

Unfortunately the dust jacket is a little creased but I really can't gripe too much for the AU$12 I paid.  

In all the years I've been visiting Australian secondhand book stores I've never seen a copy of this hardback on the shelves so I reckon it's pretty rare here.  I really like the dust jacket too.

Finally, here's a photo of the rear flap which shows images of Mr Benson's five other Bond adventures.

More Love Found, This Time Online

A few weeks ago I found a Jonathan Cape first edition of Ian Feming's "The Spy Who Loved Me" for sale online.  The hardback was published in 1962 and was one of only 30,000 copies printed.  It also features a really nice dust jacket by Richard Chopping.  For the "Buy It Now" price being asked I couldn't let it go, and the book arrived in the post today just in time for Christmas.

The strange thing is this is the second Jonathan Cape copy of this novel I've purchased in the last five months.  The previous was a 1963 fifth impression purchased in August.  

I'm hoping instead of another "The Spy Who Loved Me" the next Jonathan Cape I purchase is an earlier one in the series, preferably a "Casino Royale" first edition... well we can all dream anyway.

Have a great Christmas and New Year everyone and may you have a successful year of Bond collecting next year.