From Russia, With Love - Ian Lancaster Fleming 1957 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition First edition of Fleming’s most convincing Cold-War thriller and an absolute classic; 007 does battle with SMERSH, the Soviet organisation of vengeance, interrogation, torture and death, and in particular their fearsome executioner Red Grant. From Russia, With Love appears on both lists [100 Greatest Mysteries] compiled by the Crime Writers’ Association (UK) and the Mystery Writers’ Organisation (America).

Appropriately housed in a bespoke black cloth clamshell case, lined in scarlet red felt, the spine with gilt stamped lettering and thematic gilt stamped hammer and sickle.
  ‘Several aspects of the novel were based on current events. Early in 1950 an American spy, Eugene Karp, working in the Eastern Bloc, was murdered aboard the Orient Express. He was fleeing Romania after his cover was blown, but was intercepted on the great train by Soviet Assasins; the conductor was drugged and Karp’s body was found in a railway tunnel outside Salzburg.’

‘The
Spektor encoder was a fictional version of the German wartime Enigma machine, whose code-book Commander Flemming, together with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park, had formulated a plan to steal.’

Gilbert A5a 1.1: Book - First Edition, First Impression - Page 18, line 1: ‘the sexuality’ for ‘the asexuality’. Page 136, line 8: ‘ice twinkled’ for ‘ice tinkled’. In binding A with type A cloth (’
Fabroleen’). Dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping showing a sawn-off Smith & Wesson - First Edition - with rear panel showing six reviews for Diamonds are Forever - this was changed for the jacket used in part of the third and all of the 4th printings to reviews for From Russia with Love, Moonraker, Live and Let Die, Casino Royale and Dr. No.

References: Gilbert,
Ian Fleming - The Bibliography. Penzler, Ian Fleming’s James Bond. Biondi/Pickard - Firsts Vol 8 No4. Campbell - Ian Fleming - A Catalogue of a Collection. Steinbrunner & Penzler, Encyclopaedia of Mystery & Detection. Eric Quayle - Detective Fiction.

Octavo (book size 19.9x13cm), pp. 253 [3]. In publisher’s black pebbled cloth, spine lettered in silver and bronze, with vignette of revolver and rose in silver and red to front board. First issue dust jacket priced ‘13s. 6d. net’ to lower corner of front flap, all corners with Jonathan Cape’s decorative clip.
  Condition: Near fine some spotting to upper and foredge and pages 28-32, in near fine dust jacket, light rubbing to corners, spine, spine ends and folds, small closed tear to upper edge of rear panel.   Ref: 111500   Price: HK$ 70,000