London, Jonathan Cape, 1956
Everything except the kitchen sink. First edition of the fourth novel in the James Bond series, the film of which was the last to star Sean Connery.
Fleming was inspired to write Diamonds are Forever by a 1954 Sunday Times story on diamond smuggling, and his background research for the novel would later be published as the non-fiction work The Diamond Smugglers. On completing the book, Fleming wrote to his friend Hilary Bray that, 'I baked a fresh cake in Jamaica this year which I think has finally exhausted my inventiveness as it contains every single method of escape and every variety of suspenseful action that I had omitted from my previous books—in fact everything except the kitchen sink, and if you can think up a good plot involving kitchen sinks, please send it along speedily' (Parker, Goldeneye, p. 45).
First edition, first impression; 8vo; original black boards blocked with a diamond pattern in blind, titles to spine and diamond to upper board in silver, spine rolled, boards a little bowed; a very good copy in the jacket is lightly rubbed with toned spine panel, a price in red ink on the front panel, a few nicks and short splits, and a small scuff on the lower panel slightly affecting the blurb text, housed in a custom black cloth solander case with red velvet interior; 257pp.
Fleming was inspired to write Diamonds are Forever by a 1954 Sunday Times story on diamond smuggling, and his background research for the novel would later be published as the non-fiction work The Diamond Smugglers. On completing the book, Fleming wrote to his friend Hilary Bray that, 'I baked a fresh cake in Jamaica this year which I think has finally exhausted my inventiveness as it contains every single method of escape and every variety of suspenseful action that I had omitted from my previous books—in fact everything except the kitchen sink, and if you can think up a good plot involving kitchen sinks, please send it along speedily' (Parker, Goldeneye, p. 45).
First edition, first impression; 8vo; original black boards blocked with a diamond pattern in blind, titles to spine and diamond to upper board in silver, spine rolled, boards a little bowed; a very good copy in the jacket is lightly rubbed with toned spine panel, a price in red ink on the front panel, a few nicks and short splits, and a small scuff on the lower panel slightly affecting the blurb text, housed in a custom black cloth solander case with red velvet interior; 257pp.
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