From Thunderball onwards I see these books (unsure if 1st condition though!) in charity shops and car boots. All the pre Thunderball books ive never seen those covers before. Great video as always Jules, thank you!
Honestly, I'm thinking about getting these along with the Sherlock Holmes novels. Reprinted editions, though. Btw, your voice is so soothing, I was afraid I was gonna fall asleep for a moment there
Ha! So many people say that about my videos! The original Bond novels are still excellent today and are a superb read. The Holmes are great but reading the original stories can be a chore with the language used.
It’s interesting as I’ve seen all those books at one time or another when I collected the Bond books in my teens in second hand bookshops.(this was in the late 1990s) I saw a few copies of the OHMSS snow cover but they were in poor condition as I recall. These days it’s difficult to even find a second hand bookshop 😅🙈
These are terrific and I love them, some are tough to find in nice condition. Peff also did some outstanding covers, love your knowledge and enthusiasm! Your videos are a joy.
Aww, thanks Gary! These paperbacks were amongst the earliest I ever collected, right from when I was a teenager. They are amongst my favourite books in my collection.
Great video Jules. Very informative as usual.I've got OHMSS but assume it's the common UK edition. Can't check at mo due to books being in storage. Funny enough I saw a pan ohmss in a charity shop yesterday but didn't pay it much attention ! Look forward to the next vid.
Thanks Chris, you know, it's the UK 1st that is the scarce one. Better give yours a check!🙂 My one is the UK edition but obviously earmarked for overseas distribution, hence the 60c on the cover. Further investigation is required I think!
Thank you Jules for what is indeed a very interesting video. I too have a collection of PAN Bonds which are nearly all the Hawkey covers which I have always thought superb, I never liked the earlier Peff style of artwork but seeing your video they are growing on me. I never gave first editions a thought and perhaps I should have since I must have passed over hundreds of those early editions in my years of browsing. I also have a 60c copy - but this is of You Only Live Twice, bought in Canada, published by PAN Toronto and printed in Montreal (just as your MWTGG) also with a different format for the back cover above the photo of Fleming and feels somewhat lighter than my UK copy. It is a first edition but I would imagine the Canadian first editions may not be so collectable ? A few observations : Interesting to see that: *Fleming's company Glidrose starts to be acknowledged in the later editions although I think he started the company prior to publishing Casino Royale. *The 007/Gun logo appears on editions from 'For Your Eyes Only' onwards along with the listing of other Bond books in order which was to change to a more centralised listing in larger type. This change of opening pages format remained for some years. Any idea where the 007/Gun logo came from ? PAN's art department ? *The back covers from FYEO have the 'updated format' with embedded photos of Fleming prior to the change to Hawkey covers. I was surprised that you did not draw attention to the change from the Peffer type covers to Hawkey with the issue of Thunderball. What a fantastic new look it was which brought the series bang up to date and prompted PAN to re-issue all the books thus far printed using the same style. Hawkey is even credited on the back cover of Thunderball. Ian Fleming himself is reported as writing to Raymond Hawkey saying "Thank you very much for the pulls of the brilliant cover you have designed. I think it is quite splendid and I don't think the filthy little Pan sign spoils it too much" (!). The initial print run was 350,000 and the book sold a record 800,000 in the first six months. It is also interesting to relate that it was Harry Saltzman who introduced Raymond Hawkey to PAN books having done great work elsewhere with the covers of Len Deighton's novels such as The Ipcress File - as filmed by Saltzman. I think it also worth mentioning that the original cover design for Thunderball featured a man's chest but it was seen as being a little too much and so a man's back was shown instead using a photograph too which was a first. The bullet holes are there to show that it is the book that has been shot - not the man - hence the torn paper edges and the two bullets 'lodged' on the inside page ! Many thanks again Jules for posting.
Thanks for the feedback. This video was filmed quite about 2 years ago. My own collection and knowledge has expanded quite a bit now. A follow up video soon I reckon 🙂
Excellent. I have never read the books, but I’ve only listened to all 7 1/2 hours of the audiobook of you only live twice. Mainly because it is the sequel to OHMSS and the movie That had its name is nowhere near the source material. Enjoyed the story. Although I thought Fleming spent too much time describing the poisonous plants in the garden LOL. Have heard some parts of the other audiobooks. Interesting to hear of Bond being the assistant to Goldfinger. I did not expect that. Have also heard Toby Stephens BBC radio plays as 007..
Great video Jules, I've subscribed. They are very nice looking books. I am trying to collect the Saint books by Leslie Charteris and the man from uncle books. What about doing a video on the Saint books.
I love the early Pans, thanks for sharing. As for the OHMSS, you could argue paying so much for an old paperback is immoral when they're is so much poverty in the world, but then Bond is synonymous with hedonism and excess
I have the old Signet paperbacks, a complete colletion. I also have nine of the original US hardbacks which I picked up for 30 dollars at a yard sale. Nice!
@@JulesBurt Having read all the Bond books, Fleming wasn't the best writer. He was great at writing action scenes but his plotting was just 2 pages of info dump at the start of the book, and rarely had twists or turns. His characters, beyond 007 were complete cardboard cutouts.
I have the Canadian version of You Only Live Twice. Same cover and everything, just from Canada. And I have a complete set of the series in the 2002 Penguin release which I'm reading through now.
@@JulesBurt I remember that I actually happened on that Canadian one by chance. It was years ago, when I was first getting into James Bond as a fan and someone donated it to my local library along with some other titles too. I think some of the Gardner Bonds, too, and I randomly grabbed them.
Wonderful video! Love the 1st editions! I just picked up an Australian copy of OHMSS with green writing, 5th print, I paid $6.00 for it. Here in the states finding them in the wild is tough, I have been looking for years and mostly find damaged reading copies.
@@JulesBurt , yes, I only have 2 others, (You Only live Twice, and The Man With The Golden Gun). I am glad you have 1st Ed. copies, those are really nice!
Thanks Clive, they are certainly quite popular at the moment and maybe a bit overpriced. I'm looking forward to getting out of lockdown and going book hunting again 🙂
This was great Jules. I am so jealous! All the books in my Fleming collection were published by Triad Granada in the late 70's and early 80's; most are second or this reprints. I am curious to know whether you continued reading James Bond when John Gardner was commissioned to write new novels?
Hi Leonard, I did read the first couple but I just couldn't get into his style. I enjoyed the Kingsley Amis and I absolutely love the Charlie Higson Young Bond series. A future video covering them soon I think! Don't be jealous of my collection, just keep an eye open and you'll find them all. These Pan editions had huge prints runs so shouldn't be that difficult to find. Out of curiosity, what's your favorite non-fleming book?
Jules, I actually read the first few John Gardner’s before I read any Ian Fleming! I have License renewed, For special services and Role of honor in first edition hardcovers, with the rest in paperback. I read them so long ago, it would be difficult to pick a favourite. I did enjoy them quite a lot. I started re-reading Ian Fleming a couple of years ago (Thunderball is my next one to read), and will continue with the John Gardner’s afterwards. I’ve not yet read the Kingsley Amis, nor the two Anthony Horowitz. The Jeffrey Deaver was not bad, but I really disliked the Sebastian Faulks and the William Boyd. I have not read the Young Bond series.
@@leonardmare8368 Fantastic, I am a bit behind, there's quite a few I haven't read. Highest recommendation for the Charlie Higson's. Although aimed at teens, they are excellent reads.
I will check them out. I just saw at fantasticfiction.com that there are four more Young Bond novels written by Steve Cole, published between 2014 and 2017.
I bought a storage unit 13 years old, and it had at least 500 books, and I say at least because I haven’t count them! But I have a lot of James Bond and other amazing collections! I would like to show them to you maybe in a video, let me know if interested
Jules Burt ill do a video to show you and you can let me know what you think... the guy was a collector and gamer, found some vintage computer games, you can actually check my last video we’re I open the storage where I found them, but I’ll do another video more detailed about the books
I'm sure a bookbinder could give you the answer but it's probably down to the glue used to bind it and the sections of the book as they've come together.
@@JulesBurt the film was actually made because of the success of Dr No thy wanted to know which book to adapt next. When it was seen on President Kennedy’s top ten books list, it was adapted as soon as it was possible. President Kennedy himself saw the film two days before his death.
Hello I have been watching your collection on James Bond books I actually have a James Bond Octopussy by Ian Fleming and it only has an X on it there is no number so I was wondering is this the first book printed for that Octopussy and if so would you be interested in it
Jules Burt Sean Connery is my favorite Bond but Die another day is probably my favorite movie because it hold a lot of nostalgia since it was the first Bond movie I ever saw as a kid.
The riddle of OHMSS is solved! Check this out...bit.ly/2Jmcf6W
It's a superb site you've linked to, one of my go tos
@@ianstubbs1175 It's very comprehensive 🙂
From Thunderball onwards I see these books (unsure if 1st condition though!) in charity shops and car boots. All the pre Thunderball books ive never seen those covers before. Great video as always Jules, thank you!
Cheers Chris, appreciated 🙂
Honestly, I'm thinking about getting these along with the Sherlock Holmes novels. Reprinted editions, though.
Btw, your voice is so soothing, I was afraid I was gonna fall asleep for a moment there
Ha! So many people say that about my videos! The original Bond novels are still excellent today and are a superb read. The Holmes are great but reading the original stories can be a chore with the language used.
great video! I like the illustrations on these Pan editions. I much prefer that to the more abstract modern day ones.
Absolutely, the classic covers are just georgous 🙂
What a great collection.
Thanks Mark, great to collect as well👍🎮
It’s interesting as I’ve seen all those books at one time or another when I collected the Bond books in my teens in second hand bookshops.(this was in the late 1990s)
I saw a few copies of the OHMSS snow cover but they were in poor condition as I recall.
These days it’s difficult to even find a second hand bookshop 😅🙈
You're right, these books sold thousands of copies but have gotten scarce these days, a bit like second hand book shops👍
Fabulous books, fabulous collection.
Thanks William, appreciated. I really love these books!
These are terrific and I love them, some are tough to find in nice condition. Peff also did some outstanding covers, love your knowledge and enthusiasm! Your videos are a joy.
Aww, thanks Gary! These paperbacks were amongst the earliest I ever collected, right from when I was a teenager. They are amongst my favourite books in my collection.
Back in the days when publishers still cared about cover art.
Absolutely 👍
Great review, Jules! You have such an amazing collection. I really love your intro as well. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, I love Pan Books and the Bonds in particular 🙂
Great video Jules. Very informative as usual.I've got OHMSS but assume it's the common UK edition. Can't check at mo due to books being in storage. Funny enough I saw a pan ohmss in a charity shop yesterday but didn't pay it much attention ! Look forward to the next vid.
Thanks Chris, you know, it's the UK 1st that is the scarce one. Better give yours a check!🙂 My one is the UK edition but obviously earmarked for overseas distribution, hence the 60c on the cover. Further investigation is required I think!
Thank you Jules for what is indeed a very interesting video. I too have a collection of PAN Bonds which are nearly all the Hawkey covers which I have always thought superb, I never liked the earlier Peff style of artwork but seeing your video they are growing on me. I never gave first editions a thought and perhaps I should have since I must have passed over hundreds of those early editions in my years of browsing. I also have a 60c copy - but this is of You Only Live Twice, bought in Canada, published by PAN Toronto and printed in Montreal (just as your MWTGG) also with a different format for the back cover above the photo of Fleming and feels somewhat lighter than my UK copy. It is a first edition but I would imagine the Canadian first editions may not be so collectable ? A few observations :
Interesting to see that:
*Fleming's company Glidrose starts to be acknowledged in the later editions although I think he started the company prior to publishing Casino Royale.
*The 007/Gun logo appears on editions from 'For Your Eyes Only' onwards along with the listing of other Bond books in order which was to change to a more centralised listing in larger type. This change of opening pages format remained for some years. Any idea where the 007/Gun logo came from ? PAN's art department ?
*The back covers from FYEO have the 'updated format' with embedded photos of Fleming prior to the change to Hawkey covers.
I was surprised that you did not draw attention to the change from the Peffer type covers to Hawkey with the issue of Thunderball. What a fantastic new look it was which brought the series bang up to date and prompted PAN to re-issue all the books thus far printed using the same style. Hawkey is even credited on the back cover of Thunderball. Ian Fleming himself is reported as writing to Raymond Hawkey saying "Thank you very much for the pulls of the brilliant cover you have designed. I think it is quite splendid and I don't think the filthy little Pan sign spoils it too much" (!). The initial print run was 350,000 and the book sold a record 800,000 in the first six months. It is also interesting to relate that it was Harry Saltzman who introduced Raymond Hawkey to PAN books having done great work elsewhere with the covers of Len Deighton's novels such as The Ipcress File - as filmed by Saltzman. I think it also worth mentioning that the original cover design for Thunderball featured a man's chest but it was seen as being a little too much and so a man's back was shown instead using a photograph too which was a first. The bullet holes are there to show that it is the book that has been shot - not the man - hence the torn paper edges and the two bullets 'lodged' on the inside page ! Many thanks again Jules for posting.
Thanks for the feedback. This video was filmed quite about 2 years ago. My own collection and knowledge has expanded quite a bit now. A follow up video soon I reckon 🙂
I do have a complete set as you plus first YOU ASK FOR IT , and MOONRAKE. Too hot to handle.
Nice, You Asked For It is very scarce in the UK.
Excellent. I have never read the books, but I’ve only listened to all 7 1/2 hours of the audiobook of you only live twice. Mainly because it is the sequel to OHMSS and the movie That had its name is nowhere near the source material. Enjoyed the story. Although I thought Fleming spent too much time describing the poisonous plants in the garden LOL. Have heard some parts of the other audiobooks. Interesting to hear of Bond being the assistant to Goldfinger. I did not expect that. Have also heard Toby Stephens BBC radio plays as 007..
Nice, I've not tried the audiobooks but can recommend reading the books in order, they are excellent.
Great video Jules, I've subscribed.
They are very nice looking books. I am trying to collect the Saint books by Leslie Charteris and the man from uncle books. What about doing a video on the Saint books.
A great idea, Leslie Charteris in Pan Books, added to the list🙂
@@JulesBurt I shall look forward to that.
Nice!
I love the early Pans, thanks for sharing. As for the OHMSS, you could argue paying so much for an old paperback is immoral when they're is so much poverty in the world, but then Bond is synonymous with hedonism and excess
My pleasure Ian, still only about half way through 🙂
I have the old Signet paperbacks, a complete colletion. I also have nine of the original US hardbacks which I picked up for 30 dollars at a yard sale. Nice!
Very nice, I think I have maybe 5 or 6 Signet editions. Would like them all of course🙂
@@JulesBurt Having read all the Bond books, Fleming wasn't the best writer. He was great at writing action scenes but his plotting was just 2 pages of info dump at the start of the book, and rarely had twists or turns. His characters, beyond 007 were complete cardboard cutouts.
They were very successful and popular though. I guess it was the character that people loved and the actual quality of the writing was secondary.
Subbed! I'd like to read some Fleming!
Thanks Amy. Those early Fleming novels are great!😉
I have the Canadian version of You Only Live Twice. Same cover and everything, just from Canada. And I have a complete set of the series in the 2002 Penguin release which I'm reading through now.
Nice, the Canadian editions are quite scarce. Those 2002 Penguin versions are very attractive as well🙂
@@JulesBurt I remember that I actually happened on that Canadian one by chance. It was years ago, when I was first getting into James Bond as a fan and someone donated it to my local library along with some other titles too. I think some of the Gardner Bonds, too, and I randomly grabbed them.
Wonderful video! Love the 1st editions! I just picked up an Australian copy of OHMSS with green writing, 5th print, I paid $6.00 for it. Here in the states finding them in the wild is tough, I have been looking for years and mostly find damaged reading copies.
Thanks Clive, these seem to have got much scarcer in recent years. Even more so in the USA. 🙂
@@JulesBurt , yes, I only have 2 others, (You Only live Twice, and The Man With The Golden Gun). I am glad you have 1st Ed. copies, those are really nice!
Thanks Clive, they are certainly quite popular at the moment and maybe a bit overpriced. I'm looking forward to getting out of lockdown and going book hunting again 🙂
@@JulesBurt yes, I hope you get to go hunting soon, and your lockdown is lifted! I usually try to go each weekend if I can.
Me too, it's been so long👍
This was great Jules. I am so jealous! All the books in my Fleming collection were published by Triad Granada in the late 70's and early 80's; most are second or this reprints. I am curious to know whether you continued reading James Bond when John Gardner was commissioned to write new novels?
Hi Leonard, I did read the first couple but I just couldn't get into his style. I enjoyed the Kingsley Amis and I absolutely love the Charlie Higson Young Bond series. A future video covering them soon I think!
Don't be jealous of my collection, just keep an eye open and you'll find them all. These Pan editions had huge prints runs so shouldn't be that difficult to find.
Out of curiosity, what's your favorite non-fleming book?
Jules, I actually read the first few John Gardner’s before I read any Ian Fleming! I have License renewed, For special services and Role of honor in first edition hardcovers, with the rest in paperback. I read them so long ago, it would be difficult to pick a favourite. I did enjoy them quite a lot. I started re-reading Ian Fleming a couple of years ago (Thunderball is my next one to read), and will continue with the John Gardner’s afterwards. I’ve not yet read the Kingsley Amis, nor the two Anthony Horowitz. The Jeffrey Deaver was not bad, but I really disliked the Sebastian Faulks and the William Boyd. I have not read the Young Bond series.
@@leonardmare8368 Fantastic, I am a bit behind, there's quite a few I haven't read. Highest recommendation for the Charlie Higson's. Although aimed at teens, they are excellent reads.
I will check them out. I just saw at fantasticfiction.com that there are four more Young Bond novels written by Steve Cole, published between 2014 and 2017.
I saw the Casino Royale book on Ebay going for $100+
Indeed, it is quite sought after🙂
I bought a storage unit 13 years old, and it had at least 500 books, and I say at least because I haven’t count them! But I have a lot of James Bond and other amazing collections! I would like to show them to you maybe in a video, let me know if interested
I'll take a look!😀
@@JulesBurt Thank You!! you tell me if you want to do a live video on UA-cam or you want me to do a video my self
@@ChrisOlveraFam if you did a video with the books I could take a look. I'm really only into vintage paperbacks though.
Jules Burt ill do a video to show you and you can let me know what you think... the guy was a collector and gamer, found some vintage computer games, you can actually check my last video we’re I open the storage where I found them, but I’ll do another video more detailed about the books
I want to know why OHMSS pan has such a weak spine. I have two (not 1st) and both have lost their spine binding in exactly the same place.
I'm sure a bookbinder could give you the answer but it's probably down to the glue used to bind it and the sections of the book as they've come together.
From Russia With Love was actually a personal favorite of US President John F Kennedy
I did not know that! I do know my parents saw it in the cinema on their honeymoon!
@@JulesBurt the film was actually made because of the success of Dr No thy wanted to know which book to adapt next. When it was seen on President Kennedy’s top ten books list, it was adapted as soon as it was possible. President Kennedy himself saw the film two days before his death.
Wow, really interesting, I did not know that!🙂
its fab u lars darling!!!
Yep🙂👍
Hello I have been watching your collection on James Bond books I actually have a James Bond Octopussy by Ian Fleming and it only has an X on it there is no number so I was wondering is this the first book printed for that Octopussy and if so would you be interested in it
Hi Linda, if it's just got an X without a number, it's definitely a reprint, probably early 1970's.
@@JulesBurt thank you for the reply
My pleasure 🙂
I better collect all the books and movies!
A great series to collect!🙂
How do you think the bond films compare to the books? And what's your favorite bond film and your favorite bond actor?
I love the books. Favourite film is OHMSS and it's George Lazenby.
Jules Burt Sean Connery is my favorite Bond but Die another day is probably my favorite movie because it hold a lot of nostalgia since it was the first Bond movie I ever saw as a kid.
That's a decent film as well.