The James Bond Dossier
By Kingsley Amis
 
First edition, first impression: London: Jonathan Cape, 1965.
 
Octavo. Original black cloth, spine lettered in gilt. With the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Jan Pienkowski, priced 16s.
 
A near fine copy, the binding square and firm with bright gilt; light toning to the edges. Internally clean, barring one solitary spot to the top edge of the opening few leaves.
 
The dust jacket very good, unclipped, with some rubbing to the surface in places; a few brown spots visible to the verso; a very small hole to the lower flap hinge; overall presenting very well.
 
The first formal book-length literary study of Ian Fleming’s secret agent, published just one year after the author’s death. Kingsley Amis, writing as a serious critic and a devoted fan, provides a comprehensive analysis of the 007 phenomenon, examining Bond’s tastes, politics, and the formula of the novels. This work was a significant precursor to Amis being chosen to continue the series under the pseudonym Robert Markham with the novel Colonel Sun in 1968. The jacket design by Jan Pienkowski is a sophisticated nod to the trompe l'oeil style used by Richard Chopping for the original Fleming novels, incorporating iconic Bondian imagery such as the skull, the rose, and the Walther PPK.