Diamonds Are Forever
By Ian Fleming
First Published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, 1956
 
Description
A vintage first edition copy of Ian Fleming’s Diamonds Are Forever, published in 1956 by Jonathan Cape. This is the fourth novel in Fleming’s iconic James Bond series, which helped define the Cold War-era spy thriller and established Bond’s persona and world in literary form. This edition was printed in Great Britain in the City of Oxford at the Alden Press and bound by A.W. Bain & Co. Ltd., London.
This copy includes the first edition “Boofy” error on page 134, where the text reads: “His friends call him ‘Boofy’.” This misprint was corrected in later impressions, making this a key point of issue for collectors.
 
Cover
This copy is without the original dust jacket, and is housed in its original black cloth-covered boards with silver titles to the spine, a small silver emblem and a diamond-diced design on the front board. The binding remains intact and robust, though with some wear: there are rips near the top and bottom of the spine, small rips and bumping to the corners, and a lean to the spine. Light surface marks are present.
 
Physical Condition Inside
Binding: Tight and sound, with only a very minor crack between pages 178–179.
Pages: 257 pages. The front free endpaper and the leaf adjacent to the copyright/date page have been torn out, with only partial remnants remaining. However, all pages of the main text are present.
Paper: Lightly toned, with light foxing throughout, heavier on a few leaves. Pages are predominantly neat and uncreased, with only the very occasional small or light creases or other marks, none of which affect readability.
Rips: There are very small tears at the edge of a few leaves, including along the inner margin, but these do not affect the text.
Inscriptions: Pen writing on both pastedowns, with a small ink blot on the date page. An embossed Harrods Library stamp is also present on the rear pastedown.
 
Measurements
Dimensions: approx. 19.5 × 13 × 2.3 cm
Weight: approx. 320g
 
Publishing History
Jonathan Cape was the principal publisher of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Diamonds Are Forever followed Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker, and continued the meteoric rise of Bond’s popularity in post-war Britain and the United States.
This novel introduced settings such as the diamond smuggling routes between Africa and the US, and memorable characters like Tiffany Case. Fleming’s background in wartime intelligence gave his novels a sense of authenticity mixed with glamour and suspense.