Books

London: Jonathan Cape, 1961. [Spy thriller] FIRST EDITION, Binding 'A', SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.254; [2], bank. Publisher's cloth-effect paper over boards with embossed skeleton hand design to upper board, gilt titles to spine, dust-wrapper illustrated by Richard Chopping priced at 15s, autographed in blue ink above his printed credit on jacket flap. A clean, fine copy of the book in a near fine, lightly handled jacket with a couple of neat, short tears. Richard Wasey Chopping (1917-2008), was a British illustrator and author, painting in the trompe l'oeil style to create a realistic and almost three dimensional appearance. Among his illustrations are nine iconic covers for the James Bond books by Ian Fleming, published between 1957 and 1966, and the cover of John Gardner's first Bond continuation novel, Licence Renewed (1981). 'Dickie' Chopping was born in Colchester, Essex and educated at Gresham's School, Holt. He lived in the historic village of Wivenhoe for…

Thunderball is the ninth book in the James Bond series, and the eighth full-length James Bond novel, written by Ian Fleming. It is famous for introducing the criminal organization SPECTRE and the character Ernst Stavro Blofeld.