The publisher Hodder & Stoughton has partnered with Bentley to create an exclusive, luxury special edition of the new James Bond book ‘Carte Blanche’, to celebrate its launch on 26 May 2011.
Bentley has a long running connection to the charismatic British spy with a 'licence to kill'. The original creator of the Bond books, Ian Fleming, was a big admirer of the luxury car brand, giving his famous lead character ownership of 3 Bentleys during the course of the 14 novels he wrote in the Bond series. The author Jeffery Deaver, who penned this latest instalment in the long running series, has revisited the Bentley connection by putting the hero in the driving seat of the beautifully styled new Bentley Continental GT.
Ownership of an elegant yet high-performance sports car has always been a big part of the way Bond is portrayed, and to celebrate the renewed connection with Bentley the company have created 500 luxury limited edition books, which can be pre-ordered from now for £1000 each and will be delivered on release of the book in exactly a month’s time.
This is not the first time Bentley has done this. They also collaborated on a bespoke book for the launch of the last novel in the series, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks. This sold out in days, so if you want a copy of the latest special edition it would be wise to order early.
The design of the book itself seeks to capture the spirit of both Bond and Bentley. Each one will be manufactured to Bentley's high production standards, and comes in a beautifully designed metal case. This case design was inspired by the deserts of Dubai - one of the main locations in the new book - and of course, by the Bentley Continental GT. It is made from polished aluminium, just like the body of the GT, and is shaped to form the GT's distinctive outline.
The book itself is bound in white Nappa leather, in honour of the title 'Carte Blanche', which is also the same high grade leather used in the car's cabin. The title and author's name are joined by the Bentley wings badge and are embossed into the front and foil-blocked onto the spine. Inside the book luxurious ivory paper has been used, and the text is printed in two colours - red and black - which were selected from the Bentley range.
Perhaps the most unique and exciting feature of the book, however, will be a die-cut bullet hole piercing the pages of the book. Each copy will have a single polished 9mm bullet, individually marked with the unique number of that copy, hidden within the hole.
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