The Man with the Golden Gun — Fleming NAL 1965

📖 The Man with the Golden Gun by Ian Fleming (1965, New American Library) — Fleming’s final James Bond novel, published posthumously eight months after the author’s death. This copy is a second printing of the NAL hardcover edition with the original Paul Bacon Studio dust jacket.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Ian Fleming (1908–1964)
• Publisher: New American Library (NAL), New York
• Year: 1965 (second printing, NAL hardcover; H0042 spine code)
• Format: Hardcover in dust jacket
• Pages: 183 | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era for this edition)
• Condition: Very Good (VG) / Good+ (G+) dust jacket — full report below

THE STORY

The twelfth and final Ian Fleming Bond novel sends a brainwashed James Bond back to active duty with a seemingly impossible assignment: kill Francisco Scaramanga, the Cuban assassin known as “The Man with the Golden Gun” for his gold-plated Colt .45 revolver. Set against Jamaica’s post-independence landscape, Bond infiltrates Scaramanga’s operation at a half-built resort, aided by CIA agent Felix Leiter. The novel climaxes with a duel in the swamps — Bond’s final confrontation in Fleming’s original canon.

THIS EDITION

The New American Library hardcover was the first American edition, published in August 1965 at $4.50. This second printing carries the H0042 code on the spine and the © 1965 Glidrose Productions copyright. The dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon Studio, whose bold typographic style defined the look of American literary hardcovers in the 1960s. Fleming’s last novel was completed at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica in early 1964, with the manuscript passing through his copy editor William Plomer and writer Kingsley Amis before publication.

COVER ART & DESIGN

The dust jacket features two distinct treatments: a cream-colored front panel with a stark black-and-white portrait of Fleming himself, bold “IAN FLEMING” lettering in black sans-serif, and the title in red serif type with a “A JAMES BOND NOVEL” vertical accent. The spine repeats the author and title with the NAL logo. The back jacket carries a biographical sketch and jacket credit to Paul Bacon Studio. Black boards beneath show a striking gold gun illustration on the front cover with gilt lettering on the spine.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Fleming’s final Bond novel — published posthumously, it closed the original twelve-book canon
• The NAL hardcover is the true first American edition; Jonathan Cape published the UK first in April 1965
• Paul Bacon Studio dust jacket design is a landmark of 1960s book cover art
• The novel introduced Francisco Scaramanga, later adapted by Roger Moore in the 1974 film with Christopher Lee as the villain
• Second printing with H0042 spine code — collectible for Bond bibliographers

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? This is the second printing of the NAL (New American Library) hardcover edition, first published in August 1965. It is the first American hardcover edition of the novel.

What condition is it in? Very Good (VG) book; Good+ (G+) dust jacket with some chipping, tanning, and creasing — full report below.

Is this a first edition? This is a second printing of the NAL hardcover. The true first edition was published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965.

FOR COLLECTORS

With its H0042 spine code and Paul Bacon Studio jacket, this NAL second printing is a solid mid-tier collectible in the Bond canon — not as rare as the Jonathan Cape first, but increasingly sought after as Fleming firsts appreciate. The dust jacket’s tanning and chipping are typical for NAL hardcovers of this era.

Book Details

Author: Ian Fleming
Illustrator: Uncredited
Publisher: NAL (New American Library)
Binding: Hardcover
Edition Points: First edition, second printing of the NAL hardcover issue; H0042 code on spine.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Book: Very Good (VG)/Jacket: Good+ (G+)/Very Good- (V-)
Cover & Spine: Black boards with striking gold gun illustration on front; gilt lettering crisp. Board corners crisp. Some mild surface wear on black boards in a few places; Spine head and tail edges lightly bumped.
Dust Jacket: Complete with original publisher’s price of $4.50 inside the front flap. Some chipping with small losses at the flap fold corners, Full length vertical crease inside front flap, small upper corner crease on back flap. Edges of white portion of cover, top and bottom show tanning.
Text Block & Pages: Gold spray on top edge is quite nice, fairly uniform, some very light speckling. Outer and lower edge are mildly tanned with a few spots on outer and larger light “smudge”/thumbing on the bottom edge. No loose, torn or folded pages, no writing.
Binding: Firm and square with solid hinges.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

HFB-SEO-v1: 2026-09-16

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