Monday 8 February 2010

James Bond Pan Collection

You'll have to indulge me here. I posted a bunch of Bond novel Pan covers fairly recently, but for the purposes of posterity I am now going to post many of the same covers again, except in a slightly different context: this is my personal collection of Pan-edition James Bond novels, which I've been hunting down over the past few months (although the covers I present here are, as ever, stolen off the interweb), and which I'm rather pleased with. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.













This is the 1958 re-set of Casino Royale, i.e. the first edition of the debut Bond novel with this particular cover. The earlier Pan editions with the blond Bond are a bit too pricey for my liking, but I like this cover a lot, and it's in great nick. I've only seen one other copy of this for sale online, for rather more than I paid for it.













 

Live and Let Die. My copy of this is actually the 1959 third printing of the first Pan edition – same cover as the first Pan edition, but a later printing.













 

Moonraker. This is another re-set, the first edition with this cover from 1959. As with Casino Royale, the earlier Pan edition with a different cover is out of my price range.













 

Diamonds Are Forever. I've got a second printing of this from the same year (1958) as the first Pan printing. Not in great condition, but still nice to have it.













My copy of this is a 1959 first Pan edition. Of the Bond novels I've read so far, I think From Russia, with Love is my favourite (and my favourite cover).













And finally, a 1960 first Pan edition of Dr. No. Which hasn't actually turned up yet – I only got it the other day. This is the last of the Pan Bonds with this style of cover; the next iteration of Pan Bonds (Goldfinger and reprints of Diamonds Are Forever and From Russia, with Love) had a strap across the front with an old-looking 007 holding a gun. I'm less keen on those covers, but if I want to carry on reading the novels past Dr. No, I'll have to get Goldfinger in that style.

So there you go.

No comments:

Post a Comment