“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang went the great car’s exhaust pipes, and the big green Paragon Panther roared to life. The Pott family knew that their car was no ordinary car. The twins, Jeremy and Jemima, had noticed that right off. [...] There was something magical about her, too. The Potts found that out soon enough. The great car could be an airplane or a boat when she had a mind to. So the Potts took a sea voyage from their English home and, by chance, found a gangster’s hidden cave across the Channel in France.” (from the flap copy)
This book is the first American edition of the beloved children’s novel by Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond. Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for his son Caspar, taking inspiration from a real aero-engined car owned and raced by Count Zborowski in the 1920’s. Originally broken into three volumes with the first published in England on October 22, 1964, the adventure story was the last book Fleming ever wrote. The author did not even live to see its publication, predeceasing it by two months. Despite this sad beginning, however, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, went on to be a success, spawning a film adaptation by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes (1968) and three sequel novels by Frank Cottrell-Boyce.
- Title: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- Author: Ian Fleming
- Illustrator: John Burningham
- Publisher: Random House
- Place: New York
- Year: 1964
- Edition: First American Edition
- Length: 111pp
- Dimensions: 5” x 9.5”
- Condition: The dustjacket is in good condition—yellowed with age, worn along the edges, a tea at the top of the spine has been taped, unclipped. The binding is tight. The red cloth covered boards are in great condition, minimal wear and with gilt titles on the spine and front cover. Pages are clean and crisp—no folds, tears, or extraneous marks. Top edge of the text block has been dyed black. Striking black and green illustrated endpapers.