Ian Fleming joins Ernest Hemingway, JRR Tolkien, F Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce as the five twentieth century authors whose first editions are most expensive.
Casino Royale lies fourth in that list, after Joyce’s Ulysses ($460,500), Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby ($300,000), Tolkien’s The Hobbit ($210,500) and ahead of Hemingway’s In Our Time ($25,000).
Remember though that while there is nothing wrong with collecting such treasures, real value of books lies between the covers.
Bond gambles millions…, gets tortured, and falls in love with a double agent… yet still keeps calm and carries on to save the day.
Key takeaways
- First published in 1953, Casino Royale’s initial run was just 4,728 copies.
- A first edition sold in 2013 for the equivalent of $60,000.
- The book is the fourth most expensive first edition of the twentieth century.
Source: Robb Report
