7 replies to this topic

[godwulf]

I've recently seen no fewer than three copies of a hardcover book by I.F. entitled, 'Berlin Escape' - which apparently contains 'The Living Daylights', 'Octopussy', and 'Property of a Lady' - and which is variously described as having been printed in 1962 and "the '70s", in a very limited edition of eighty copies, by a publisher in the U.S. Two of the copies are, oddly, "shrink-wrapped", and the third is signed, rather unaccountably, by the actress Maud Adams.

I would have thought that a book like this would - assuming that the print run was as small as advertised - be highly sought after by Bond collectors, but the sellers don't seem to be asking all that much, so I'm a bit puzzled. If the one seller's publication date of 1962 is accurate, this would have been the first book appearance of those stories, right?

Does anyone know anything about this book?

[doublenoughtspy]

It's the literary equivalent of a bootleg.

As you can hopefully tell by the printing and the shrinkwrap(!), these did not come out in the 60s or even 70s. They are much more modern.

Modern Bond reprints still list the original copyright dates for the stories - that doesn't mean they were printed in the 50s or 60s.

The rumor is that these were created to "keep the copyrights current", but that story is pretty fishy to me.

[jaguar007]

If I recall correctly, "Berlin Escape" was the original title for "The Living Daylights" as it was originally published as a short story in a magazine.

[Donovan Mayne-Nicholls]

If I recall correctly, "Berlin Escape" was the original title for "The Living Daylights" as it was originally published as a short story in a magazine.

It wasn't. It was the American title. The story first appeared in the UK under the title The Living Daylights, then in the US. FAVTAK also had its title changed for the American market.

[jaguar007]

If I recall correctly, "Berlin Escape" was the original title for "The Living Daylights" as it was originally published as a short story in a magazine.

It wasn't. It was the American title. The story first appeared in the UK under the title The Living Daylights, then in the US. FAVTAK also had its title changed for the American market.

Ahh yes. I quick look up shows that TLD was originally in The London Sunday Times on February 4, 1962. It was later printed in the American publication Argosy in the June 1962 issue under the title "Berlin Escape" and again under the same title in the November, 1965, issue of Intrigue Magazine. When the book "Octopussy and The Living Daylights" was first published in the US, it was called TLD.

I believe FAVTAK has always been FAVTAK in US print. I have never seen a copy of the book FYEO with any other title.

[Qwerty]

Pretty sure you're referring to the Amereon House printing, limited to 80 copies, as I have one.

I too have sometimes seen this book listed for a relatively low price considering to incredibly low print run. That leads me to believe that either:

1 - there are actually more than 80 copies available

or

2 - these books are so scarce that no one despite avid Bond collectors know about them

The publisher has also printed similar limited copies of the following:

The Diamond Smugglers (Limited to 300 copies, brown cover)
The Diamond Smugglers (Limited to 300 copies, blue cover
Thrilling Cities (Limited to 150 copies, blue cover)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Limited to 250 copies, green cover)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Limited to 250 copies, maroon cover)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Limited to 250 copies, blue cover)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Limited to 250 copies, white cover)

[godwulf]

Thanks to everyone for the info and comments!

Don't know whether I'll pursue ownership of this particular book - I can think of several items that I'd much rather have that I could probably get for the same or less money...the early Book Club edition of Thunderball, with that wonderful cover featuring the skeletal hand rising up from the ocean floor in front of the diver, and the Australian book club edition of Colonel Sun, come to mind.

Anyway, thanks again, all.

[Donovan Mayne-Nicholls]

If I recall correctly, "Berlin Escape" was the original title for "The Living Daylights" as it was originally published as a short story in a magazine.

It wasn't. It was the American title. The story first appeared in the UK under the title The Living Daylights, then in the US. FAVTAK also had its title changed for the American market.

Ahh yes. I quick look up shows that TLD was originally in The London Sunday Times on February 4, 1962. It was later printed in the American publication Argosy in the June 1962 issue under the title "Berlin Escape" and again under the same title in the November, 1965, issue of Intrigue Magazine. When the book "Octopussy and The Living Daylights" was first published in the US, it was called TLD.

I believe FAVTAK has always been FAVTAK in US print. I have never seen a copy of the book FYEO with any other title.

It appeared under the title PARIS COURIER in Argosy, 1961. Pretty original editor they had, didn't they?