As you know, October 5th was Global James Bond Day, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the theatrical premiere of Dr. No. (You did know that, right?) The book itself was released in March 1958, which means it will celebrate its 55th anniversary in just a few months.
Ian Fleming himself came up with the concept for the first Dr. No book cover, which was illustrated by Pat Marriott and depicts Honeychile Rider (she became Honey in the film) as a sort of Venus on the half-shell. But that was only the first cover. There have been many, many others.
Giving credit where it’s due, we thank Kinoimages for the recent post about “Beautiful Dr. No book covers” for without them we never would have thought about just how many editions there have been of Ian Fleming’s Dr. No—or Doctor No, as it was titled in the first U.S. edition, which also came out in 1958.
If these images whet your appetite for more, we direct your attention to the Illustrated 007 blog by Peter Lorenz. His collection of Bond book covers and film posters will thrill the living daylights out of you.
Images via Kinoimages and Illustrated 007