James Bond was a Cousin of Dracula

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The gestation period of James Bond was rather long when compared to the characteristics of our species. Designed on January 15, 1952 at 9 o'clock, Jamaican time (as told by Wikipedia), he saw the day light on April 13, 1953, date of publication of the first Ian Fleming novel, Casino Royale.

A copy of the first edition, with its dust jacket in good condition, is available for sale at Dallas by Heritage on October 16. It is improved with an enigmatic and humorous dedication by Ian to "M", which was the fictional intelligence chief in the novel. This lot is estimated 40 K$.

Fleming's success came a few years later, with adaptations of his novels for film and television. James Bond had the right profile at the right time. The public was tired of too serious distractions, the humor was invited to second the action.

I commend you two examples from the same years. In 1956, Showcase magazine seeks successors to Superman and Batman, whose stiff attitude starts to be considered as retarded. I did an article about this new trend in the Comics group. And in 1958, Christopher Lee brings his elegance to the movie character of Dracula.

Did you know? In real life, Fleming and Lee were cousins!

Here is the link to the catalog page, shared by Heritage. This page includes a video presentation of this lot.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This first edition was sold 50 K$ including premium. The result is consistent with estimates.