Author’s note: Values here are estimates based on experience and are only meant to be a guide as of 2003. No matter what any “expert” says (myself included), a book is only worth what someone is willing to pay and no one can say for sure what a book will or will not sell for. And condition is everything. All prices here are in U.S. dollars.

Casino Royale (1953)

The Hardcover:

When Casino Royale was first published by Jonathan Cape on April 13, 1953, it was a sensation. In England the first printing of 4,750 copies sold out in the first month of publication. Fleming himself designed the dust jacket art, which contained nine bleeding hearts on a gunmetal gray background with “a whisper of love, a whisper of hate” inscribed around the center heart. This first edition of Casino Royale is one of the most sought-after James Bond books. Heck, it’s one of the most sought after first edition books, period! Because the first print run was very small — with many going to libraries — in auction, first editions of Casino Royale can sell for $15,000 to $20,000. (In the 1980s, this book typically sold for $1,200, which gives you an idea of how much Fleming’s books have soared in value.) But know that the dust jacket is everything with this title. With jacket, a first Casino can fetch these large prices; without jacket, the seller would be lucky to get a few hundred dollars. Also, beware of color copies of the dust jackets, which have begun to appear on the market in recent years.

In order to meet demand, Cape quickly published a second edition of Casino Royale in May 1953. This second edition is identical to the first except for the indicator “Second Edition” on the copyright page and the inclusion of “The Author” under Fleming’s picture on the back of the dust jacket. Also, a favorable review of the book was added to the front dust jacket overleaf. This second edition can sell for several hundred dollars. Pat Marriott designed new dust jacket art (featuring a playing card against a green background) for Casino‘s fourth printing in November 1957. The book also picked up a printers error on page 34 (“neard” for “heard”). The Marriott art (along with the printing error) became standard on all subsequent hardcover editions, ending with the 13^th edition in the 1980s. A Marriott first (meaning the 4th) can sell for $50 to $100, depending on condition.

In America the reaction to Casino Royale was rather cool. (Fleming was not to gain a loyal following in the states until President Kennedy named From Russia with Love one of his favorite books.) Nevertheless, the first edition of Casino Royale, published by Macmillan on March 23, 1954, remains the most valuable (but not the rarest) of the American books and can sell for between $1,500 and $2,000. But when shopping for an American Casino warned that two states of the dust jacket exist. Most first editions have the corner of the dust jacket overleaf clipped, and the price reads vertically below the clipped area. But there is another state of the first edition with a complete flap, and the price reads horizontally on the bottom. (The prices are the same on both editions: $2.75.) Most collectors and book dealers don’t know about this variation; so at the moment, there’s little difference in value. But personal experience has been that the complete flap is much harder to find than the clipped flap and should add a few hundred dollars to the price.

Macmillan started what would be a long series of US hardcover book club editions with Casino Royale (the UK would wait for the next book). The first Macmillan Casino book club edition — featuring a knife and cards against an orange background in its cover — is quite desirable and can reach as high as $50 in price, unusual for a book club. In fact, there’s a question as to whether or not this is a book club edition or a retail reprint. The later Macmillan book club editions — featuring a PPK against a uniform blue-grey or a pink background — are plentiful and have almost no value. These frequently show up on eBay as “hardcover 1st editions.” Buyer beware.

In the 1990s, MJF reprinted Casino Royale as a low-priced “bargain bin” hardcover, part of “The James Bond Classic Library” series. While the jacket art is a bit lackluster, what is nice is that the book uses the original British edition plates (right down to the page 34 printing error). Also in the `90s, “The First Edition Library” reprinted pricey facsimile editions of all of Fleming’s novels, and their copy of Casino Royale is a beauty. This is an excellent way to enjoy the artistry of the true first edition if you don’t have $20,000 on hand.

In 2002, Viking/Penguin published the most recent hardcover edition of Casino Royale as part of the recent “anniversary” reprints. The jacket art is the same as the U.K. paperback reprints. Thus far, copies have been scarce.

The Paperback:

The first British paperback edition of Casino Royale was published by Pan Books on April 18, 1955, and features a dapper James Bond in tuxedo, sitting at a card table on its cover. (Ironically, it is much the same pose as Sean Connery would assume for the first shot of Bond in the 1962 film Dr. No.) This first paperback Casino can sell for between $75 and $100, depending on condition. Pan’s later paperbacks contained more lurid cover art, but these pulp editions are very desirable and a “pulp” Casino can easily fetch $15 to $25. Pan also published a tie-in edition to the unofficial 1967 film (mysteriously dated 1965) with the excellent tattooed lady art from the film’s poster. Like most tie-ins, the book is easy to find. Still expect to pay $15 to $20 for a copy in mint condition.

After several different series designs (published in large numbers), Pan produced their excellent “still life” series in 1972. In mint condition, a Casino from this series can sell for $10 to $20. In the late `70s, Triad Granada put out a rather sexy “girl and gun” series the girl on gun Casino can be found for near cover price.

The 1980s saw Coronet pick up the license and produce a highly underwhelming series featuring on their covers a James Bond silhouette with a mysteriously undersized head. These editions contained a new introduction by Anthony Burgess. The Casino from this series is not really collectible and can be bought for less than cover price.

In the `90s, Coronet made a spectacular comeback with a paperback series featuring colorful action illustration art. Casino Royale features bullets atop playing cards. These can still be found in bookstores at cover price. Coronet reprinted the series in 2002 with all-new, rather minimalist and modern cover art.

In America James Bond made his first paperback appearance in 1955, two years after his hardcover debut. Popular Library published Casino Royale as a pulp paperback under the title You Asked For It. (Apparently, it was feared that American readers would not be able to pronounce “Royale.”) The title change was of little concern to Fleming, but he did suggest “The Double-0 Agent” or “The Deadly Gamble” as options. You Asked for It is a wonderful piece of Bondamania. The rear of the book refers to Bond as “Jimmy Bond” and its illustrated cover features an alluring Vesper Lynd with a leering “Jimmy” pouring a drink. The spine of the book reads “She played a man’s game with a woman’s weapon.” One would hardly recognize this book as an adventure of the suave sophisticated 007 of today. This remains a very scarce book, and one that is passionately sought after by Bond fans. On the open market, it tends to be priced at $250 to $300.

After a rocky start in the world of the 25-cent pulp editions, the Bond book license was picked up by Signet, where it was to remain throughout the `60s. The first Signet edition of Casino Royale was printed in February 1960 and marks the first appearance of the book under the correct title (leading some to mistake it as the first U.S. paperback printing of the book, which, as we’ve seen, is not the case). Readers of this edition were probably not pleased with the catchphrase on the back of the book “A fiery love affair with a sensuous lady spy” because it spoils the surprise ending of the novel! The beautiful cover art shows a busty Vesper, a frightened-looking Bond, and a villainous-looking Le Chiffre. In mint condition this first Signet Casino can sell for $30 to $40.

The next Signet Casino was issued as part of its standard series design, introduced in 1961. The popular series is easily recognized: It has Fleming’s name in the center, and the words “A James Bond Thriller” down the side. The rear of the books features the title of the other novels. Later reprints have a 007 in the top-left corner. Published in huge numbers at the height of Bondamania in the `60s, these editions are abundant today; even in mint condition, the Signet Series Casino (featuring minimalist art against a yellow background) is not worth much more than the $.50 it cost back in its day.

An American tie-in edition of Casino Royale was published by Signet to coincide with the release of the 1967 film. Like the U.K. tie-in edition, the U.S. edition used the film poster art and, in mint condition, can fetch $10 to $15.

The first publisher to inherit the Bond legacy from Signet was Bantam (who did so after publishing Colonel Sun in 1968). Bantam produced some of the best cover art of any of the paperbacks. The Bantam Casino Royale features excellent montage art and the name JAMES BOND running boldly down the cover (interesting that now the character Bond sells the book instead of author Fleming). Because of their art, these Bantam editions are highly sought after by Bond collectors. Expect to pay $10 to $15 for a Bantam Casino in mint condition.

After Bantam’s relatively short-lived Bond publishing stint, Jove picked up the rights for the remainder of the 1970s. The Jove Casino features Bond standing, well, in a casino! The Jove editions were published in large numbers, and values remain near cover price. A curious edition of Casino Royale was published “complete and unabridged” in a magazine format in 1982 by “Complete Best Sellers” which also contains James Bond trivia questions and a crossword puzzle. It has nice cover art. No price has been established.

Berkley took over publishing duties in the `80s and produced a rather underwhelming “silhouette series” The Berkley Casino features Bond against a dark purple background. While these editions are not collectible, there is one notable exception. Berkley created a one-shot copy of Casino in 1986 as a free giveaway with purchase of John Gardner’s No Deals, Mr. Bond. This edition features the standard Gardner book silhouette on the cover against a bright yellow background and a starburst blurb on the cover announcing it as”FREE with purchase of No Deals, Mr. Bond.” This is a very collectible edition, and one that most collectors don’t even know exists.

The paperback Bond all but disappeared from American bookstore in the `90s, but 2002 saw all new Penguin reprints of the Fleming books with breathtaking “retro” cover art cover art by Richie Fahey. Fahey’s work is very reminiscent of the classic pulp editions of the `50s. Typically, publishers have gone out of their way to contemporize Bond with their cover art and design, or negate time altogether by leaving Bond in silhouette. But these new books boldly state that these James Bond adventure are very much set in the world of `50s spy pulp, and marks the first time James Bond has been sent back in time via the cover art. No doubt this particular edition of Casino Royale will become highly collectible in the future.

For a more detailed printing history of Casino Royale, I recommend Bryan Krofcho’s excellent website: www.bondian.com.