Live and Let Die. by FLEMING, Ian - 1954

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1954. In the notably bright first issue jacket Octavo. Original black boards, titles to spine and roundel to front board in gilt. With the dust jacket. Housed in a black quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Spine gently cocked, gilt to spine a little faded; a remarkably bright and fresh copy in the jacket with slight creasing and tiny nicks to spine ends and tips. First edition, first impression, in the first issue jacket without the design credit slug to the front flap. The earliest dust jackets issued made no mention of Kenneth Lewis and at some point the need was recognised to credit his work. A stamp was made and as a stopgap existing jackets were overstamped beneath the blurb on the front flap. This slightly amateurish solution was swiftly abandoned and the jacket was reset and reprinted to include the Lewis credit. Copies of the first impression exist with all three states though we note that the third state dust jacket may readily be found on reprints and ought therefore be regarded with some suspicion. Copies of the first issue in such condition as the present example are increasingly hard to find. Gilbert A2a (1.1).