Fleming's own life was a fascinating backdrop for his stories of the renowned 007. Grandson of Robert Fleming (1845-1933), the founder of Flemings, Ian was the second son of Valentine and Eve Fleming. Ian was born in 1908 and educated at Eton. After a brief period at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, he went abroad to further his education. In 1931, having failed to get an appointment in the Foreign Office, he joined Reuters News Agency. During the Second World War, he was personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence at the Admiralty, rising to the rank of Commander. His wartime experiences provided him with first-hand knowledge of secret operations.

After the war Fleming became Foreign Manager of Kemsley Newspapers. He built his house, Goldeneye, in Jamaica and there at the age of forty-four he wrote Casino Royale, the first of his novels featuring Commander James Bond. By the time of his death in 1964, the James Bond adventures had sold more than forty million copies.

Ian Fleming's first biographer, John Pearson, has identified 15 January 1952 as the "birth date" of James Bond. The first book, Casino Royale, was published by Jonathan Cape in 1953. Ian Fleming worked on the cover design himself, describing it as one of 'exquisite symmetry and absolute chastity'. He sent the manuscript to Paul Gallico, who he had met in the course of his work at the Sunday Times, and Gallico was happy to give James Bond his first literary endorsement. "The book is a knockout."

The novels of Ian Fleming were immediately recognised as classic thrillers by his contemporaries Kingsley Amis, Raymond Chandler and John Betjeman. With the invention of James Bond, Ian Fleming created the greatest British fictional icon of the late twentieth century.

Bond Bound: Ian Fleming & The Art of Cover Design looks at all Ian Fleming’s books including the children’s story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Thrilling Cities - his collected travel journalism. However much of the exhibition charts the the role of artists and designers in creating and defining the Bond look. The covers of Bond novels stretching back more than half a century provide a fascinating snapshot of society’s changes attitudes to sex, feminism and the changing international political climate.

Fleming’s first Bond novel Casino Royale was published in 1953 and the author worked on the cover design himself, describing it as one of “exquisite symmetry and absolute chastity”. Over the ensuing decades the front cover was changed on several occasions reflecting a more open attitude towards sex and later a move towards greater simplicity on book jackets.

For more information on the Ian Fleming Centenary visit www.ianflemingcentenary.com/