Goldfinger. [Original Richard Chopping Signed Printing Proof].

CHOPPING, Richard. [Ian Fleming].

$18,000.00

Item Number: 124391

Rare original progressive color printing proof for the iconic dust jacket design of Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger, designed by Richard Chopping. Chopping’s copy, retained for his personal collection and signed by him in the lower right corner. One page on archival printer’s paper, this is the black ink progressive plate proof (one of four plates combined to create the final full color image). The seventh novel in Fleming’s bond series, Goldfinger was the second book with a dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping, the first being From Russia, With Love. Chopping would design all subsequent James Bond dust jackets (with the exception of Dr. No). In fine condition. The proof measures 22.25 inches by 17.5 inches. Matted and framed, the entire piece measures 32.75 inches by 27.5 inches. A rare and attractive piece of Bond history and an important original working component in the artistic design of one of the most iconic dust jackets in modern literature.

British illustrator Richard Chopping’s designs have become an iconic component of the Bond cultural phenomenon. Fleming’s wife, Ann, introduced him to Chopping in 1956, then a young painter, and after a few months of correspondence the initial design for the From Russia, With Love dust jacket was conceived. Following this initial collaboration, Chopping would design all of the subsequent James Bond dust-jackets (with the exception of Dr. No) including: Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only, Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, and Octopussy and The Living Daylights.