Easton Press Publishes Signed, Leatherbound Limited Edition of THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD

Connecticut-based publisher Easton Press, renowned for their beautiful, leatherbound editions, have announced a new release sure to interest all spy fans. John le Carré's seminal 1964 masterpiece The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, still inevitably cited as a touchstone every time a new, twisty, brooding, serious spy novel comes out, is the latest le Carré title to receive the Easton treatment. In addition to each copy being hand-signed by the author, according to the publisher, "this Easton Press exclusive edition features premium leather binding, a hubbed spine accented with true 22kt gold, gilded page ends, moiré endsheets, and a satin bookmark." Dimensions of the 256-page book are 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”. Easton's signed edition of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy came with a certificate of authenticity that was itself signed not only as le Carré (a pen name), but also as David Cornwell (the author's real name)... which I found quite neat! I would expect that to be the case once again with this book.

Easton doesn't report the limitations of their books, but they are limited. Once the signed stock sells out, it's gone, and the books become collectors' items inevitably commanding high prices on Ebay. Their last le Carré release, for example, a 3-volume set of the Karla Trilogy with the first, the aforementioned Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, signed by the author, is now all sold out. For now, however, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold can be ordered directly from the publisher for 4 monthly installments of $32.

While other le Carré books (including Tinker, Tailor) have had previous leather editions in the past, this edition surprisingly marks the first ever time that what is arguably the author's most famous work has been published in leather. (It did, however, receive an excellent illustrated, slipcased treatment from The Folio Society last year, which is still available--and highly recommended!)

Other notable Easton Press spy titles over the years include leather editions of le Carré's A Perfect Spy (this is a really cool book, with a "secret code"-themed pattern on the cover), William F. Buckley, Jr.'s Saving the Queen, Robert Ludlum's The Parsifal Mosaic, James Grady's Six Days of the Condor, the entire run of Ian Fleming James Bond titles (From Russia With Love actually got the Easton treatment twice), and Anthony Horowitz's first Bond novel, Trigger Mortis. All together, they make for a very impressive shelf or two in any good spy library!