# Is "You Only Live Twice" by Ian Fleming a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming (Jonathan Cape, 1964) is identified by: Cape first edition, first impression, 1964 (Gilbert A14a). UK Cape (1964) precedes the US New American Library edition (1964); the UK Cape printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cape first edition, first impression, 1964 (Gilbert A14a)
- The verso carries the single line 'FIRST PUBLISHED 1964' with no later-impression statement
- The Richard Chopping trompe-l'oeil jacket (a toad and a peony bloom) is with its printed price on the front flap; copies bound in publisher's boards with silver titles and Japanese characters to the upper board, with bamboo-patterned endpapers
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ian Fleming |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Cape first edition, first impression, 1964 (Gilbert A14a) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Cape first edition, first impression, 1964 (Gilbert A14a). The verso carries the single line 'FIRST PUBLISHED 1964' with no later-impression statement. The Richard Chopping trompe-l'oeil jacket (a toad and a peony bloom) is with its printed price on the front flap; copies bound in publisher's boards with silver titles and Japanese characters to the upper board, with bamboo-patterned endpapers.

## Is this the true first?
UK Cape (1964) precedes the US New American Library edition (1964); the UK Cape printing is the true first. The last Bond novel published in Fleming's lifetime.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions reset and add an impression statement to the verso; price-clipped or reset book-club copies lack the original the printed price jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *You Only Live Twice* by Ian Fleming a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/you-only-live-twice
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.