1st editions of Dashiell Hammett and Ian Fleming books go up for auction

Have a little — okay, a lot of — extra spending money lying around?

Next month, Christie’s will hold an auction of rare books and manuscripts from across five centuries.

On the block: a fifteenth-century Bible; first editions of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale and several books by Dashiell Hammett; and a copy of America’s first banned book.

You can check out highlights of the Fine Books and Manuscripts Including Americana sale online and in person at New York’s Rockefeller Center from October 18-24; items go on sale October 25.

You can also familiarize yourself more with Hammett’s life and significance in an article by biographer Richard Layman, written for Christie’s.