James Bond 1st edition fetches $30K

Some rare first editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond secret agent series have sold for as much as £19,000 ($30,000 Cdn) at an auction in Britain.

The auction netted that amount for Fleming's first 007 book, Casino Royale, a 1953 first edition.

A copy of Moonraker, third in the series, sold for £7,200 ($11,000) while the second novel, Live and Let Die, went for £6,000 ($9,450).

"The 007 film industry has helped that impetus by drawing in thousands of new fans keen to buy into the James Bond fantasy," said auctioneer Dominic Winter, who added that the "colourful" first editions in the series have "always been one of the surest certainties over the last 30 years" in terms of netting high bids.

The highest price thought to have been paid for a Bond first edition was from a 2004 London auction, which netted £33,750 ($35,800) for a signed copy of From Russia With Love.

Since 1962's Dr. No, there have been a total of 22 Bond films, the last one being 2008's Quantum of Solace starring Daniel Craig.

Though Fleming died in 1964, the Bond series was continued with different writers, including Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), Charlie Higson and John Gardner. The latest one was 2008's Devil May Care, written by Sebastian Faulks.