Ian Fleming has personally inscribed this first edition copy of Goldfinger to the British golfer, Sir Henry Cotton featuring in our February Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs auction. Ian Fleming and Sir Henry Cotton had a good friendship - evidenced by the fact that Fleming has used his full name in the inscription, a trait usually seen when Fleming had a particularly close relationship with the recipient. "Goldfinger" dedicates a whole twenty-nine pages to this relationship and the game of golf, indicating how important both were to the author.
Fleming was thrilled to appear as a subject in Henry Cotton's "Golf Notes, published in "Farm and Country" in 1959. Cotton used photographs of golfers to illustrate particular golf swings and the problems caused by incorrectly positioned hands and feet. Ian Fleming can be seen here as 'golfer 3': "Celebrated author Ian Fleming is caught at a later point in his swing, and whilst his arms could be coming to a position of rest, both his feet are firmly anchored on his heels. In all three cases the body is nowhere near completely facing the hole; it is locked by the hips and 'dead feet'." In "Goldfinger", Fleming has included a direct reference to Cotton's observation regarding "that flat swing of yours" (p.102).
Lyon & Turnbull’s dedicated team of Rare Books, Manuscripts & Maps specialists have established an international reputation for their auctions, selling both through our UK auction house, and via live online auctions. Our specialists are experts not only on books and manuscripts, but also on current market conditions, an essential combination to the successful sale of fine antiquarian books, modern first editions, folios, autographed letters and important archives.