Books

London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. [Spy novel] FIRST EDITION, binding 'A', superb ASSOCIATION COPY, SIGNED BY ARTIST. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.288. Publisher's dark brown cloth-effect paper over boards with silver titles to spine, in original jacket designed by Richard Chopping. Decorative bookplate, SIGNED by Amherst Villiers, also SIGNED by his daughter Janie Villers in our presence. Villiers painted the portrait of Fleming reproduced on the rear flap. A lovely fine copy in a crisp, fresh p/c jacket, with a small amount of abrasion/wear to extremities. Shows exceptionally well, in a bespoke clamshell box. Engineer Charles Amherst Villiers (1900-1991) designed a supercharger for the 4½ litre 'Blower' Bentley, the gearing for which was made by David Brown & Son [D.B.S.], prior to their acquisition of Aston Martin, a struggling motor company previously funded by Count Louis Zborowski. His friend Ian Fleming chose the 'blower' as James Bond's own vehicle in Casino Royale, plus a company Aston…

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 1 April 1963. The story centers on Bond's mission to find and stop the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld who is planning to destroy Britain's agricultural economy.