Agatha Christie's Fontana Paperbacks - Part 6: 1967-1968.

This article continues my series on Fontana paperbacks published in the 1950s, 60s and 70s - in my opinion the golden age of Agatha Christie paperbacks. In prior articles I've reviewed all the Fontana paperbacks created from 1953 through to 1966, which since 1963 now include covers by Tom Adams & others. These articles will provide fans and readers a definitive guide to assist with building a collection of Fontana paperbacks. All articles provide all the images of the covers plus collecting tips. To read any of the prior articles please follow the links below.

Part 1: 1953 to 1957 and the first 15 Christie titles Fontana published (link).

Part 2: 1958 to 1960 and the next 21 covers created during those years (link).

Part 3: 1961 to 1963 (partial) and the 23 covers created prior to Tom Adams (link).

Part 4: 1963 (partial) to 1964 & the 21 books published, many now with Adams covers (link).

Part 5: 1965 to 1966 and the 22 book published in those years (link).

Part 6: 1967-1968.

In 1967 Fontana published ten Christie paperbacks, either for the first time or with a new cover design. In 1968, a further nine were published. The covers from these years continued to be a blend of Tom Adams and Ian Robertson covers. The design style by Fontana was consistent across both years making books from this period easy to quickly identify. First, the top white bar has Agatha Christie's name is in capitals across it. Second, below her name and a black line is the title, in both upper and lower case letters. There is no Fontana logo present in this section as there will be in later years. Across the bottom of the cover is another white bar, that states Fontana Books (in capitals) and either a 3/6 price (UK market) or no price (export market).

1967.

1418.r: A Caribbean Mystery. Published in June ’67, this is the 2nd Fontana of this title. The first version, also numbered 1418, was a film tie-in. This printing in 1967 now has the 1st Tom Adams cover for this title - with the rather dead looking Major Palgrave - a rather iconic Adams image. Since Fontana did not change the series number, I refer to this as 1418.r.

1477: Partners in Crime. Published in March ’67, this is the 2nd Fontana version of this title - now featuring new cover art by Ian Robertson. Unlike most Fontana books of this period, there was no colour coordination between the front and rear panel.

I also think there is a rather odd similarity between this cover and the cover created by Richard Chopping (artist) for John Gardner's 1981 James Bond continuation novel License Renewed. As you can see, Chopping used the same elements - a gun, pearls and flowers.

1506: Destination Unknown. Published in April ’67 this is the 7th Fontana printing of this title. This impression now has the new Tom Adams cover with its somewhat psychedelic and colourful design. Very late 60s! For those that haven't read this novel, it is one of the non-series adventure/esionage style novels Christie wrote with a strong female lead. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think it is worthy of a great film adaptation.

1511: 4:50 From Paddington. Published in May '67. this is the 6th Fontana impression. While the prior version was the film tie-in, this now features the new Tom Adams cover. As an aside, it is believed this book had more title changes that any other Christie pre-publication. While it was titled What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! in the US, Christie's original UK title was 4:15 from Paddington, then 4:30, then 4:54, before finally setting on 4:50. I'd read somewhere the 4:54 was an actual train, so a decision was made to make it more 'fictional'!

1515: The Body in the Library. Published in June ‘67, this is the 3rd Fontana impression. The new cover by Tom Adams incorporates one of his preferred design elements that signifies death - a black fly.

1521: At Bertram’s Hotel. This is the 1st Fontana impression and was likely printed in March. It is also the first global paperback as it preceded the US Pocket Book printing that didn't occur until October 1967. Fontana reprinted this book in April '67 and again in August 1968. Some of these later printings incorrectly state the first Fontana was printed in 1968. As the image below shows, the correct first state of this book does cite 1967 as the year it was first issued by Fontana. The cover was designed by Tom Adams.

1561: (The) Seven Dials Mystery. Published in September ‘67, this is the 4th Fontana impression. As noted in an article I wrote about errors in printings (link), this is one of the books that was printed with an incorrect title on the cover as it omitted the "The". This makes the first version of No. 1561 highly collectible. Later impressions corrected the error. The new artwork was created by Tom Adams.

1567: The A.B.C. Murders. Published in October ‘67, this is the 3rd Fontana impression. Featuring new artwork by Ian Robertson, this is a fairly scarce title to locate in this version.

1614: The Do it With Mirrors. This is the 9th Fontana impression but now with new artwork by Tom Adams. This image was reused by Bantam (US) on their cover of The Mousetrap and Other Plays. Bantam actually reused or "borrowed" a number of Tom Adams' images incorrectly. For more details on all of them see this link.

1633: Evil Under the Sun. Published in November ’67, this is the 4th Fontana impression. New artwork by Tom Adams. This is one of two novels inspired by Burgh Island - the other being And Then There Were None.

1968.

1677: Appointment with Death. Published in March ’68, this is the 2nd Fontana impression. The new cover art is by Tom Adams.

1723: Five Little Pigs. This is the 5th Fontana impression. The new cover art is by Ian Robertson. This is a surprisingly difficult title to locate with this cover. If you need one, but whatever you find and upgrade its condition later as needed if a better one shows up.

1727: Ten Little N----rs. Published in April ’68, this is the 5th Fontana impression. Still being published under the now offensive title (and it was questionable even in its day), this book is now better known as And Then There Were None. The new cover art by Tom Adams is also offensive today, and likely was questionable in 1968. That said, Fontana continued to use this title and this cover for many years. Later printings also appeared not to change the design layout - both spine and covers - all the way through the late 1970s. This was unusual and something only seen on a couple of titles.

1729: Cards on the Table. Published in June ’68, this is the 7th Fontana impression. The new cover was created by Ian Robertson. Along with Sad Cypress (No. 1858), it is one of the easiest Robertson covers to locate.

1736: Death Comes as the End. Published in June '68, this 2nd Fontana impression now features new art from Tom Adams. The art was also used on the US Pocket Book paperback published a few years later. Fontana continued to use Adams' art for this title all the way through the mid-1980s.

1759: The Third Girl. This is the first Fontana impression and the 1st UK paperback of this title. While it is not fully clear if it preceded the US Pocket Book which was published in July, the Fontana version was likely published in June or July, so it was potentially the 1st global paperback. Now featuring new artwork by Tom Adams, this was another 'error' printing as it added the "The" to the title on the cover. The book is correctly titled solely Third Girl.

I consider this one of the rarest Fontana Christie paperbacks to find, especially priced 3/6 and in Very Good condition, and thus is worth 5-10 times more than a typical 1960s Fontana paperback. The extant copies of this book are often found overseas leading me to believe some printings were exported before Fontana discovered the error (unpriced on the cover).

1820: The Hollow. This is the 9th Fontana impression. Currently, the month of publication is unknown. The new cover art is by Ian Robertson and is quite common.

1844: Death on the Nile. Printed in November ’68, this is the 3rd Fontana impression. The new art by Tom Adams is arguably one of his most memorable and iconic designs. Finding this first printing of this cover is harder than you think as it was reprinted so many times.

1858: Sad Cypress. Published in December ’68, this is the 6th Fontana impression. Now featuring art by Ian Robertson, this impression was a surprisingly quick replacement of Series No. 1313 – the Adams cover with the photo in the frame. That was only printed twice – the original printing in June 1966 (4th Fontana) and again in October 1966 (5th Fontana). This new Robertson cover was used for many years and is much easier to find than the Adams early cover.

Summary & Values.

As always, if you have additional insights, corrections or images to share, please do so. As to values, most of these books will sell for used book prices. Most sellers are not aware of what is an actual first printing 'thus' of a Tom Adams or Ian Robertson cover. As awareness grows, expect prices on those initial printings/impressions to increase in price. A few of these books are much harder to find than others (as commented on in the article). For now, aside from The Third Girl that doesn't translate to a higher price but may one day. Currently these are affordable collectibles that I believe offer great value - both in their shelf appeal, usability and long-term appreciation potential. If first appearances appeal to you, then take the time to find these specific 'impressions' / printings as detailed in these articles. Always try to seek books without tears, excessive wear and preferably the series number should be intact on the spine.

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