Rare James Bond books inscribed by Ian Fleming on offer from Harrogate bookseller John Atkinson

In the meantime, however, fans looking for a more exclusive view into the world of the secret agent have a golden opportunity - thanks to a Yorkshire bookseller.

John Atkinson Fine & Rare Books in Harrogate is offering a collection of 15 first editions related to 007, each of them first printings and complete with their dust wrappers.

Fourteen of these are James Bond books by Ian Fleming dating from 1953 to 1966, most of which include personal inscriptions to important people in his life, and in the development of the famous character.

A copy of Casino Royale, the first Bond novel, is signed and inscribed to Lisl Popper, one of Fleming’s lovers and one of three people the author left £500 to in his will. The Spy Who

Loved Me copy is made out to William Plomer, a friend of Fleming and the man who urged him to seek publication of his work.

The last, Birds of the West Indies, is written and signed by James Bond himself - that is, the American ornithologist, whose moniker Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, took for his spy.

Valued at £475,000 for the whole set, shop owner Dr John Atkinson is now on a quest to find a buyer who wants to keep the collection for their eyes only.

He said: “They came from different collections all over the world.

“It took a couple of years to put it together.”

The books, just like 007, have arrived suitably journeyed, with a handful coming from America and one from Australia, while editions such as Casino Royale have been in private ownership for decades.

Dr Atkinson, whose shop is on Royal Parade after a move from Montpellier Mews last year, estimates that the number of Fleming collections similar to this worldwide would be in the single figures (and emphasises that it is not kept in the store).

“Fleming was a massive bibliophile,” he said.

“He knew that once he signed the book, it would be worth more money.”

Bond fanatics are of course potential buyers, but he says investors may be interested too.

“You’ve got people who are sick of putting their money into stocks and shares and want something tangible they can touch.”

Dr Atkinson, 41, runs the business alongside his wife Lottie, and they live in Ripon with their children Joss, five, and Kit, three.

The business owner picked up his first edition book at a car boot sale for 10p when he was seven years old, but it was not until his university days that a dust cover of The Man with the Golden Gun caught his eye.

Dr Atkinson - who prefers the Bond films to the books - bought it for £25, and later sold it for £50 during what he jokes was a “misspent youth selling books rather than reading them”.

To find out more about the collection, visit www.johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk.