For Your Eyes Only. Five Secret Exploits of James Bond.

WARMLY INSCRIBED BY FLEMING “THE REST WILL HAVE TO WAIT” 

FLEMING, Ian 

For Your Eyes Only. Five Secret Exploits of James Bond. 

New York: The Viking Press, 1960 

Large 8vo., two-tone green and yellow coloured cloth, with publisher’s Viking Longboat device printed in red to upper board; lettered in red to backstrip; contained in the original unclipped printed dustwrapper ($3.50 to front flap) designed by Richard Chopping; pp. [viii], 3-218; a near-fine copy, with boards a touch faded in places and some pushing to spine tips; a couple of small bumps to corners and one to upper edge of rear board, affecting a couple of the last few pages; otherwise a very clean example; the dustwrapper very good with some shelf wear, rubbing and darkening to folds; some nicks, chips and short closed tears to edges; the longest tear running 4cm along the rear flap fold; the largest chips to head and foot of spine, not affecting lettering; completely unrestored. The book now housed in a custom-made bright red clamshell case by Wyvern Bindery, with eye device to the upper cover in black, and lined in dove-grey suede.  

First U.S. edition, first printing. This copy warmly inscribed by the author to the front free endpaper to an unknown recipient: “The rest will have to wait” x Ian”. Similar inscriptions have been noted in other copies. For this title, Fleming had recently moved from his previous U.S. publisher, Macmillan, to Viking after recommendations from his friends Graham Greene and Peter Quennell. The American edition was produced in a larger format to the U.K., and thus utilised slightly amended artwork for the wrapper. It was published just a few months after its counterpart in England. 

A lovely example of the first U.S. edition of Fleming’s short story collection, which was his eighth to feature James Bond. The stories in order are:

From a View to a Kill (where Bond investigates the murder of a motorcycle dispatch rider and the theft of his top secret documents). Fleming sets the majority of the work in Paris, and mentions a series of cafes and restaurants with which he was intimately familiar in real life, along with the character of Mary Ann Russell, based on his former girlfriend Maud Russell. 

For Your Eyes Only (where Bond is sent on a voluntary assignment to track down and kill the assassin of two of M’s friends). Fleming took the title for this story from the stamp which used to adorn secret papers in the early days of the war, thus leaning on his Naval Intelligence experience. 

Quantum of Solace (where Bond is told the story of his dinner companions and their failed relationship). A homage to his friend Somerset Maugham, it is the most personal of the stories, taking influence from his own marriage, which was at the time going through a particularly turbulent period. The title takes its name from the degree of comfort needed in a relationship for love to remain; when it reaches zero, love will fail.

Risico (where Bond travels to Italy in order to investigate the smuggling of narcotics to England). The Lido chase scene is a nod to one of Fleming’s heroes Thomas Mann, who used the same stretch of beach in Italy in his novella Death in Venice. 

and 

The Hildebrand Rarity (set in the Seychelles, where Bond aids a millionaire in his search for a rare fish, the latter who is subsequently murdered). Fleming was a keen diver and bird watcher, and had initially travelled to the location in order to conduct a treasure hunt, searching for the hoard of French pirate Olivier Levasseur. 

In 1954, following the success of the American television adaptation of Casino Royale, Fleming was approached by CBS, who suggested that he write a series of 32 episodes for them. Due to air over a two year period, Fleming initially agreed to thirteen episodes based on seven new stories, plus recycled ideas from his already published novels. The proposed shows never made it into production and instead were adapted into this series of five short stories, Fleming’s first foray into the genre using the character of Bond.

A wonderful copy with a personal inscription. Scarce with these attributes.