James Bond is one of the most recognisable film series and now memorabilia items in celebration of a special 70th anniversary have sold for over £732,000.
The auction held by Sotheby’s which finished today on London’s appropriately named Bond Street featured an array of James Bond books, movie posters, cars, watches, whiskey and more.
It is part of the 70th anniversary of the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, published by Ian Fleming in 1953.
The grand total raised across all items sold at the auction was £732,409, up from the estimate of £570,500.
Fenella Theis, Specialist in Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby’s, discussed with Metro some of the best-selling items at this year’s auction.
A Casino Royal first edition book sold for £22,860 and Fenella said: ‘This book is from the Jon Gilbert collection who acquired Ian Fleming and James Bond material for over forty years.
‘Ian Fleming as an author is a true British icon and to have his first and most classic book sell is really exciting.
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‘Jon Gilbert himself is known as the Bond guru and his research into Ian Fleming is the most comprehensive.’
Jon Gilbert’s archive includes an extensive range of proof copies, first edition books, presentation and association copies, letters, photographs, advertising material and printed ephemera related to Ian Fleming’s entire canon.
A surprise item which sold for much higher than the estimated price of £2,400 was a Goldfinger ‘Pussy’ photo by Terry O’Neill which sold for £27,940, the top price item.
A Macallan James Bond 60th anniversary edition whisky also sold for £22,860, while a Dr. No (1962) film poster sold for £20,320, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5’s from the film Goldfinger and a 1987 Aston Martin V8 Volante were also sold this morning.
Other notable items like handwritten notes from the estate of Kevin McClory were also sold, a tumultuous story about how Bond got onto the big screen.
Thunderball was originally intended to be the first ever Bond movie by Kevin McClory and the screenwriter Jack Whittingham, in collaboration with Ian Fleming.
But when relations between McClory, Whittingham and Fleming soured, Fleming wrote the novel Thunderball, based on the screenplay.
When McClory read an advance copy of the book the following year he immediately petitioned the High Court to stop its publication.
Fleming was unwell and suffered a heart attack during the hearing. He suffered his fatal heart attack on August 12 1964, nine months after the trial.
Thunderball was eventually developed in 1965 under Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.
Fenella said Sotheby’s cross-department work with this James Bond auction reflects the wide interest in both the James Bond film and book series.
She said there is a mass market for items like film posters but book sales usually attract a more niche market.
She discussed why James Bond still has such a mass appeal and said: ‘Everyone has grown up watching Bond and the different Bonds over time mean the film series targets different generations of people.
‘He embodies a British icon, a lost era and an enduring appeal through the storylines, clothing and memorabilia, the likes of which have sold today.’
This year’s auction surpassed an auction to mark the 60th anniversary of the release of Dr. No in 2022 by £100,000.
Sotheby’s recently held an auction of Freddy Mercury memorabilia with Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics selling for £1.4million.
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