Ian Fleming | The Man With The Golden Gun, 1965, first issue, first state (variant)

Ian Fleming

The Man With The Golden Gun. London: Jonathan Cape, 1965

8vo, FIRST ISSUE, FIRST STATE (variant), Linson binding in dark grey, large gun design blocked in gilt to upper cover, spine blocked in silver, original dust-jacket by Richard Chopping, collector's half morocco clamshell case

A rare variant of the first state, the binding blocked "very occasionally in silver" to the backstrip (Gilbert, p. 418). Price clipped as expected for this issue (copies were exported to Commonwealth countries). This casing is effectively the publisher's trial binding, rejected in favour of a cheaper alternative.