O'brien Ffrench, Conrad (12 results)

Condition: Good. 2nd impression. Boards are clean. Content is clean and bright. Good DJ is clean with light fadint to writing on the spine.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good Minus. No Jacket. O'Brien-ffrench, Conrad (illustrator). 1st Edition. x, 50 pages; light blue pictorial soft covers; signed by author in blue ink to half title page; some rubbing and blemishes to covers; a very good minus copy. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Dust jacket in good condition. Second printing. Minor shelf and handling wear, overall a clean solid copy with minimal signs of use. Stain on the center edge. Secure packaging for safe delivery. 1.4.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Dust jacket in good condition. Minor shelf and handling wear, overall a clean solid copy with minimal signs of use. Minor stain on the top edge. Secure packaging for safe delivery. 1.4.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Quite a life! 2nd imp of 1979 ed. No marks. DW in archival sleeve.

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Inscribed copy of the larger-than-life autobiography of one of the most cinematic figures in the annuals of 20th century espionage, mountaineer, soldier, painter, rancher, debonair party-goer, saucy POW, and death-defying British MI6 operative Conrad O'Brien-ffrench. O-Brien-freench was an early recruit of legendary MI6 leader Stewart Menzies, M having been impressed by O'Brien-ffrench's resourcefulness and skulduggery as a wounded POW held by the German army during World War I. O'Brien-Ffrench would get another round against the Germans, posing effortlessly as a brazen playboy while harvesting secrets under Nazi noses in the buildup to World War II. Among those with a close-up view of O'brien-ffrench's style and machinations at his peak were writerly brothers Peter and Ian Fleming. In taking the measure of the smooth, eminently confident, and multi-faceted O'Brien-ffrench, Ian Fleming is widely believed to have observed qualities that he would build into a Cold War era character, a top spy operative named Bond. Bond? Yes, that Bond. By the time James Bond dominated bestseller lists and movie screens, O'Brien-ffrench, once a respectably high-ranking member of Gestapo wanted lists, was long out of the game, officially anyway. Climbing, painting, ranching, and going about his customary Most Interesting Man in the World-esque routines in the vicinity of remote peaks in North America. Inscribed by Conrad O'Brien-french to a previous owner on the front endpaper. 272 pages, illustrated. Second Printing. The book itself shows no sign of previous use. The dust jacket has a closed tear at the bottom of the front cover. Signed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 2nd Edition. Skilton & Shaw: 1980. Octavo. Hardcover with a dust jacket. Second impression. Inscribed by the author on the first free end paper. Red boards with gilt lettering. Rubbing to the top edges of the boards, tiny stain to the front board. Spine is ever so slightly cocked. Numbers written in pen on the last free end paper. Unclipped jacket has a moisture stain to the top edge of the back cover, but is nonetheless in lovely shape. Book and jacket are both in very good condition. An extremely rare book, especially with the signature. Inscribed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. First printing of the true first edition. ***Very good in red cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine. The gilt is still beautifully bright, having been protected by the dustwrapper. Boards clean and unmarked. Head of spine slightly creased. Corners sharp. All edges of text block lightly foxed. Internally near fine with no inscriptions. No foxing. No creasing. No tears. No marks. However, please note that there is a 'Lincolnshire Library Service' stamp and Dewey reference number on the page opposite the Contents page. There are no other library marks, so it is likely that the book was held in the reference library. Spine tight. ***In a very good dustwrapper with photographs of the author front and back - not price-clipped, showing the original publishers price of £5.95 net. Extremities of dustwrapper slightly rubbed and creased. No loss. No tears. No significant creasing. The dustwrapper would be described as near fine except for the fact that there are two narrow strips of clear archival tape affixed to the top and tail of the spine - most likely done by the library to prevent tearing to the top and tail of the spine of the dustwrapper. These could probably be carefully removed by a book archivist. No fading to the sun-sensitive orange titles on the spine of the dustwrapper. ***220 mm x 145 mm. 272 pages. ***'Conrad Fulke Thomond O'Brien-ffrench, 2nd Marquis de Castelthomond (19 Nov 1893 - 23 Oct 1986 was a distinguished British Secret Intelligence Officer, Captain in the Tipperary Rangers of the Royal Irish Regiment and 16th The Queen's Lancers in World War I, and Mountie for the Royal North-West Mounted Police. He was also an accomplished artist, linguist, mountaineer, skier, and author.' (Wiki) ***'Conrad O'Brien-ffrench, Marquis de Castel-Thomond, was born in London in 1893. At the age of 17 he sailed for Canada and became a Mountie, but in 1912 returned home to be with his dying mother. On the outbreak of war he was sent to France with the Royal Irish Regiment where severely wounded he was captured at the Battle of Mons. As a prisoner-of-war in Germany he began to obtain valuable classified information from other prisoners recently arrived at the camp, and this he relayed to London by the simple device of invisible ink. As a result after the war Stewart Menzies (head of M.I.1.6 - later to become M.I.6 - the British Military Intelligence branch, and the model for Ian Fleming's "M") offered him a job as assistant Military Attaché to the British Legation at Stockholm. Thus began an association which was to continue up to the beginning of the Second World War. His life in the 'thirties, when under the guise of playboy and sportsman he kept watch on Hitler's Germany, is frequently stranger than fiction. But Conrad O'Brien-ffrench's day to day battle of wits with the Nazis, which is said to have inspired his friend Ian Fleming with the idea for James Bond, is just a single period in an astonishing life that spans the whole of the present century. Conrad O'Brien-ffrench lives today in a chalet in the Rockies, where at 85 he lectures on philosophy and art, and teaches painting.' (Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***A first printing of the true first edition of this very elusive work by the secret intelligence officer, artist, linguist, mountaineer, skier, and author Conrad O'Brien-ffrench. The book is scarce. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.***.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Included. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION, first printing. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.272. Publisher's red cloth, titles in gilt to spine. Dust-jacket designed by Alan Downs. Illustrated with two photographic suites and a frontispiece portrait of the author. Light spotting to top edge. Price clipped dust-jacket shows very well. Near fine. The biography of the British secret intelligence officer, acquaintance of Ian and Peter Fleming in Kitzbühel, and likely one of the sources of inspiration for James Bond.

Hard. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Dust jacket clean and tidy, closed tear to foot of spine 1.5cms, head of spine bumped, light browning to edges of rear cover, black/white photographs of author to front/rear covers, boards very clean and tidy, black/white photograph of author to frontispiece, pages very clean and bright, unmarked, text clear to read. several black/white photographs and sketches throughout, binding sound. Size: 8vo.

Illustrated. (illustrator). Very Good (covers nice & bright; contents clean & tight); very minor wear d/j. A nice copy! 8vo., red cloth in dust jacket; 272 pages First Edition, first printing of this uncommon biography. Signed presentation from O'Brien-ffrench on the front endpaper: "To John & Sara, with love Conrad. 1980." Conrad Fulke Thomond O'Brien-ffrench, [1893-1986) was a distinguished British Secret Intelligence Officer, Captain in the Tipperary Rangers of the Royal Irish Regiment and 16th The Queen's Lancers in World War I, and Mountie for the Royal North-West Mounted Police.[4] He was also an accomplished artist, linguist, mountaineer, skier, and author. James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his brother, Peter, knew O'Brien Ffrench, an Englishman with a penchant for fast cars and a lavish lifestyle. It is generally considered that he is the basis for the famous James Bond character in Fleming's novels. "John" in the presentation may be to his son (through his second marriage) but I have been unable to obtain the name of his wife.

[Intelligence/espionage] FIRST EDITION, SIGNED & INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.272. Illustrated with plates. Red cloth hardback lettered in gilt, photographic dust-jacket priced at £5.95. Signed presention to Anthony Cowdy, with recipient's ink ownership to free endpaper. A fine copy. Nicknamed 'Eagle', Conrad O'Brien-ffrench was a distinguished British Secret Intelligence officer, and an accomplished artist, linguist, mountaineer, racing driver, skier and author. Recruited to MI6 by Col. Stewart Menzies, he served as Agent Z3 with the British Secret Service in Kitzbühel, Austria, where he established a spy network stretching deep into Southern Germany, and spent much time on the ski slopes and local bars with his friend Ian Fleming. His style, 'playboy' tastes, athletic endeavours, personal adventures and experience in espionage provided Ian Fleming with much inspiration for James Bond. This copy is from the collection of Fleming bibliographer Jon Gilbert (pencil ownership within). Gilbert, p.16.