# Is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" by Ian Fleming a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming (Jonathan Cape, 1963) is identified by: Cape first, published 1 April 1963 (Gilbert A11a); standard binding is dark cloth/boards with a white ski-track motif stamped on the front board and the spine lettered in silver (a premium variant uses quarter vellum over black boards with gilt spine and top edge gilt). UK Cape (1963) precedes the US New American Library edition (1963), so the UK printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cape first, published 1 April 1963 (Gilbert A11a); standard binding is dark cloth/boards with a white ski-track motif stamped on the front board and the spine lettered in silver (a premium variant uses quarter vellum over black boards with gilt spine and top edge gilt)
- The Richard Chopping dust jacket depicts an artist's hands drawing the Bond family coat of arms
- First-issue text point: 'two kings' on page 34, line 7
- Jacket with its printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ian Fleming |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Cape first, published 1 April 1963 (Gilbert A11a); standard binding is dark cloth/boards with a white ski-track motif stamped on the front… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Cape first, published 1 April 1963 (Gilbert A11a); standard binding is dark cloth/boards with a white ski-track motif stamped on the front board and the spine lettered in silver (a premium variant uses quarter vellum over black boards with gilt spine and top edge gilt). The Richard Chopping dust jacket depicts an artist's hands drawing the Bond family coat of arms. First-issue text point: 'two kings' on page 34, line 7. Jacket with its printed price.

## Is this the true first?
UK Cape (1963) precedes the US New American Library edition (1963), so the UK printing is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints reset; later impressions add printing lines; book-club copies lack the priced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *On Her Majesty's Secret Service* by Ian Fleming a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/on-her-majestys-secret-service
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.