50. Fleming (Ian) Thunderball, first edition , near full-page inscription from the author on front free endpaper, original boards, dust-jacket, slightly rubbed at tips of corners, but overall an unusually fine copy , 8vo, 1961.
est. £3500 – £4500
The inscription reads “To / Jack. / By appointment, / M.O. to the SIS! / Ian” - possibly to Jack Whittingham, who worked on a treatment of Thunderball with Fleming for a film version; the idea was scrapped and the treatment converted into the novel instead. ‘SIS’ is the Secret Intelligence Service, aka MI6.