You Only Live Twice | Pan | X434
This artwork was used for the 1st to 3rd editions
The very rare promotional dust jacket - see notes.
Prudential advertising postcard (front and back) as found in some 3rd editions
Rear covers. Left 1st printed in UK but not for UK sale. Middle 1st printed in Canada (see bottom right). Right 2nd/3rd
12. You Only Live Twice
Author : Ian FlemingPublisher : Pan / Great Pan
Format : Paperback
Series :
Edition : 1st through 3rd
Year : 1965 (first published with this artwork)
Country published : UK
Artwork designer : Raymond Hawkey
General Notes
In 1963 graphic designer (and novelist) Raymond Hawkey created a fresh new look for the Bond novels. The uniform design with minimal graphics contrasted with the “painted” designs of the previous series. The consistent use of modern fonts helped the series have a uniform look as did having “JAMES BOND” in large bold text at the top of each book. Elements of this design can be found in the Pan “Model” series of the 1970s and in the Panther / Triad series of the 1980s. Millions of copies of the Bond paperbacks were printed in the “Hawkey” series and for many is the definitive paperback series, indeed for many people of a “certain age” it was their introduction to reading James Bond novels. Thunderball is the only book in the series where Hawkey is credited (Cover design by Raymond Hawkey) so it is possible Pan staff laid out some of the other designs. The majority of the books were released with Hawkey designs in 1963 but the timing of the film releases of Dr No and From Russia With Love means that the “Movie Tie In” editions were published first. This pushed the release of the Hawkey cover versions of these titles out to 1964/65 and means they are less common than the others. It is probable however that these covers were designed at the same time as the others as early / prototype editions have been found.Editions and pricing variants found with this artwork
All editions have X434 to spine and front cover. The following printings / pricing variants with this artwork have been found in our collections: 1st edition 1965- Unpriced with “Not for sale in the UK” printed to the back. These copies have very shiny covers and almost look laminated, this seems unique to this edition. Confusingly these are printed in the UK
- 60c printed to front cover with a small, “Printed in Canada” to the bottom / rear cover. These do not say “Not for sale in the UK” and are less shiny. Less common than the UK printed copies
- Movie tie in dust jacket / wrapper. Some copies (see photo) were updated to look like the movie tie in versions of the book to help clear old stock. Copies with this promotional wrapper are very rare and whilst replica copies can be found on ebay, finding a genuine one is perhaps the most difficult challenge for a collector of the Pan books. From experience they are less common than unpriced 1st edition copies of OHMSS (often called the unicorn book!), most copies have been found in Australia. Not all collectors know of this variant and as it looks exactly like the movie tie in book its possible that copies exist still to be discovered. If you have a copy and can help with a better photo, please get in touch.
- Unpriced to front, United Kingdom 3/6, Australia (6/-) 60c, New Zealand 4/6, South Africa 45c printed to back Note that the rear cover design is different for the 2nd & 3rd with the plot summary removed.
- One copy has been found unpriced. This was printed in the UK but has a Canadian 1st edition cover with the Printed In Canada scratched out - difficult to explain / understand why this copy exists.
- Unpriced to front, United Kingdom 3/6, Australia (6/-) 60c, New Zealand 4/6, South Africa 45c printed to back. Note that many 3rd editions have Prudential Assurance advertising postcards inside (see photo)
Collectors notes
As all 14 bond books were published in this uniform series and copies are plentiful they make an ideal first set of books for the new collector. From Thunderball onwards the 1st Pan printings were in this Hawkey series, surprisingly On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 1st Pan edition is perhaps the most difficult to find / most valuable of all the Pan paperbacks (especially without any price to the front). The main reason for this is that the 1st four printings were export only.