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 | | Thursday, 6 December, 2001, 18:08 GMT Rare Bond find in charity shop  Ian Fleming began writing Bond novels late in life A rare copy of a James Bond book by Ian Fleming has been discovered in a charity shop in Scotland. The first edition copy of Live and Let Die was handed in by a mystery donor in a plastic bag full of other books. It had been in storage when John Fyfe, a volunteer at the Morningside branch of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), spotted the rare edition. The item has been valued at about �5,000 by book experts at Sotheby's in London, where it is due to be auctioned next Thursday. Shock Mr Fyfe admitted he was very surprised at the find. He said: "I've no idea who handed it in. I work two days a week and I was off when the books were left in the shop. "It was just lying with a pile of books and we go through them all to check for anything special.
"It's quite a plain looking thing, although its dust jacket was in good condition. When I saw it was a first edition I knew it would be worth a bit." Jay Hogarty, ICRF area retail manager, said: "If the auction estimate is right, this will be the biggest find we've had in Scotland. "Mr Fyfe is a volunteer specialist who knows about books, and not all our shops have those specialists. "The money will go back to the shop and then to our central fund to help vital cancer research." Origins In July 2000 a copy of Fleming's first James Bond book, Casino Royale, published in 1953, sold at Sotheby's for �6,500. Fleming was born in 1908 but it was not until 1952 that he wrote his first James Bond draft. Casino Royale was a hit, and was televised in the US in 1954. In the following years he dedicated himself to its successors and oversaw the move of James Bond onto the big screen. Among his other works was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - the story of a mad professor who invents an amazing flying car. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Arts stories now:  Links to more Arts stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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