On This Day

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 19th

1928: Philip Locke is born--St. Marylebone London. (He dies 19 April 2004.)
1961: In a note to Dennis Hamilton, Ian Fleming confesses he must live as an old man after coming close to death during a meeting.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2519995/For-eyes-Letters-reveal-deepest-secrets-007-creator-Ian-Fleming--day-dropped-dead-Sunday-Times-meeting.html
For your eyes only: Letters that reveal
deepest secrets of the 007 creator Ian Fleming...
and the day he almost dropped dead at a Sunday Times meeting

- Letters between James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his friend Dennis ‘CD’ Hamilton are on sale for £160,000
- They reveal Fleming had a heart attack at a Sunday Times editorial meeting
- He also confided his plans to marry Ann Rothermere after her divorce
- Fleming predicted the news would cause a 'Fleet Street sensation'

By Chris Hastings - Published: 17:01 EDT, 7 December 2013 | Updated: 20:17 EDT, 7 December 2013

i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/07/article-2519995-19F1842D00000578-248_306x423.jpg
Letters from James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his friend Dennis Hamilton have gone on sale for £160,000

As the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming was a master of dreaming up death-defying situations from which the super-spy only just manages to escape.

But Fleming himself owed his life to the prompt actions of one of his closest friends who spotted he was having a major heart attack.

In previously unseen letters, published for the first time today, Fleming also admitted his impending marriage would cause a ‘Fleet Street sensation’ – and reveals that he regards the genteel pastime of gardening as a ‘death trap’.

Fleming’s intimate exchanges with his colleague Dennis ‘CD’ Hamilton form part of an archive of more than 80 letters now on sale for £160,000.

In one note, dated April 19, 1961, Fleming told Hamilton, who was working alongside him at The Sunday Times, that he is now having to behave like an old man following his brush with death during an editorial meeting.

He writes: ‘Although neither of us knew it I am afraid I was in the middle of a rather major heart attack this time last week.’

Fleming adds: ‘One never believes these things so I sat stupidly on trying to make intelligent comments about the thrilling new project about which I long to hear more. However, a thousand thanks for noticing my trouble so quickly and for shepherding me away when the time came.’

The two men had been friends for more than a decade by the time of Fleming’s heart attack.

In 1952, Fleming confided to Hamilton his plans to marry Ann Rothermere, the soon-to-be divorced wife of the 2nd Viscount Rothermere, who was then chairman of Associated Newspapers, owner of the Daily Mail.

He writes from his home in Chelsea: ‘CD – just so you won’t see it first in the public print. This is to tell you that I am getting married to Ann Rothermere, which will cause something of a Fleet Street sensation I fear as the divorce goes into the lists next Wednesday.’

i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/07/article-2519995-19F1843600000578-174_306x423.jpg

i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/07/article-2519995-19F1843E00000578-997_306x423.jpg
Revelations: The letters reveal Ian Fleming had a heart attack during a Sunday Times editorial meeting and that he believed his plans to marry Ann Rothermere once she divorced would cause a 'Fleet Street sensation'

He adds: ‘In fact this has been on the cards for a long time. We have known each other for years. There are no hard feelings anywhere.’

Ann had first met Fleming in 1936, and had thought him, then aged 28, ‘a handsome, moody creature’.

Ann was later one of the most charismatic society hostesses, her house in Victoria Square becoming a renowned salon where high society, artists and intellectuals mixed.

In his letter, Fleming assures Hamilton that Lord Kemsley, the then owner of The Sunday Times, has no problems with his relationship with the former wife of a rival newspaper magnate.

He writes: ‘So please calm down excitement at levels other than K [Kemsley] who knows and accepts with an apparent good grace.’

Fleming and Ann eventually married in 1952 and remained together until the author’s death from heart disease in August 1964.

Fleming died aged 56 on their son Caspar’s 12th birthday. In a touching letter, Ann tells Hamilton that her son, who later took his own life, was in turmoil. She wrote: ‘I was deeply touched by your letter to Caspar . . . Alas he refuses to answer as he says he refuses to owe anything to friends of his parents.

i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/07/article-2519995-19F1842000000578-486_634x799.jpg
Happy couple: Ian Fleming later married Ann, pictured together in 1963, and they remained together until his death from heart disease in 1964

‘His present frame of mind is very distressing to me. I can only pray that it will alter. The only sign of grace is his unhappiness which I am powerless to help.’

Fleming, who joined The Sunday Times after serving as a wartime naval intelligence officer, continued as a journalist even when his career as a novelist took off.

By the time he formally quit the paper in 1961, he had written nine of his Bond novels, including Casino Royale and Live And Let Die.

The letters show also the dividing line between Fleming’s roles of journalist and thriller writer could become obscured. On July 17, 1960, Harry Hodson, the then Sunday Times editor, criticised his profile of the German city of Hamburg because he thought it was too obsessed with its red-light district. He writes: ‘We have to remember that for a great many of our readers . . . prostitution is not even a necessary evil, but something entirely immoral and degrading.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/12/07/article-2519995-19F1841200000578-255_306x438.jpg
Colleagues: Dennis Hamilton, pictured in 1966, worked alongside Fleming at The Sunday Times

‘Again striptease acts may be alright for callow youths, and frustrated middle-aged men, but are a vulgar . . . sort of entertainment for balanced people.’ Fleming’s journalist colleagues were keen to capitalise on the success of the Bond characters, and several letters deal with how the spy may be included in the paper.

On September 5, 1961, Fleming lobbies for an article on ‘the guns of James Bond’ even though he accepts it may bore female readers.

He refuses Hamilton’s request for a 1,000-word article about 007 himself which the editor feels would be more ‘bonne bouche’ to readers.

Just two months before his death, Fleming chastises Hamilton for wasting time in his garden.

A letter dated June 15, 1964, says: ‘I am sorry you have been playing the fool in the garden. You must know that all forms of gardening are tantamount to suicide for the normal sedentary male. For heaven’s sake leave the whole business alone.’

The correspondence also shows that the friends could sometimes fall out. In one undated letter, Fleming criticises his friend for a particularly ‘harsh’ exchange of words.

He writes: ‘You were under great pressure so your wrath is excusable. But you should not use such words to a friend. They were unforgivable so I shall forget them.’

The correspondence has been acquired from Hamilton’s family by independent booksellers Bertram Rota. Owner Julian Rota said: ‘We are asking £160,000 for the letters which we do not consider an unreasonable amount. They show that the relationship between the two men became more relaxed and more intimate with the passing of time.’

Andrew Lycett, Fleming’s official biographer, said of the letters to Hamilton: ‘I think it was very much a mutual admiration society.

‘Ian Fleming was certainly a great fan of Hamilton’s and liked the fact that he had served with distinction during the war.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2519995/For-eyes-Letters-reveal-deepest-secrets-007-creator-Ian-Fleming--day-dropped-dead-Sunday-Times-meeting.html#ixzz5Cz07S8Hp
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

2010: Troubles at MGM force the Bond producers announce a delay for BOND 22,
beyond Fall 2011 or even Spring 2012.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 20th

1904: Bruce Cabot is born--Carlsbad, New Mexico.
(He dies 3 May 1972 at age 68--Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.)
1989: Top-down shooter game Licence to Kill by Quixel (developer) and Domark (publisher) is released.
Available for DOS, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum.

commodore-c64-license-to-kill_.jpg?w=545&h=323

2016: Guy Hamilton dies at age 93--Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain.
(Born 16 September 1922--Paris, France.)

https://nytimes.com/2016/04/22/movies/guy-hamilton-director-of-goldfinger-dies-at-93.html

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 21st

1969: Toby Stephens is born--Middlesex Hospital, London, England.
1971: Bond comic Double Jeopardy begins its run in the The Daily Express. (Ends 28 August 1971, 1597–1708.)
Yaroslav Horak, artist. Jim Lawrence, writer.

2017: A Daily Mail article cites a recent poll proposing the reading of Bond books as the most-lied-about.

dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-4432690/Do-lie-books-read-You-not-.html

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 22nd

1950: Lee Tamahori is born--Wellington, New Zealand.
1963: Filming at the Sophia Mosque in Istanbul.

56761927_h8DzIR0Oi5MI0McLorCCRMw9WBcryB8g7bR16OwxJMo.png

2010: With BOND 23 delayed, rumors fly that Sam Worthington will play Bond.
2015: After a scheduled break and minor knee surgery, Daniel Craig resumes filming at Pinewood Studios.

Thunderfinger · April 2018

63, of course. Not 64.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

Thanks, I've made that mistake recently, @Thunderfinger. Something going on in my brain gives it a pass.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 23rd

1943: Hervé Villechaize is born--Paris, France.
(He dies 4 September 1993 at age 50--North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.)
1953: Ian Fleming's article "2,200 Year Old Wine from Wreck; It Tastes Terrible" published in the Milwaukee Journal confirms what explorer Jacques Cousteau should have suspected all along.

Jacques Yves Cousteau
Un Étudiant Terrible
coopertoons.com/caricatures/jacquescousteau_bio.html

...
After Jacques retired from the Navy, he began working as an independent researcher and film producer. His funding came from various sources. The French government provided some grants and it was Loel Guinness - a titled Englishmen - whose inherited wealth was the wherewithal that let Jacques purchase the Calypso. Loel - not to be confused with the Irish Guinness brewers (whose titled name is Iveagh) - had been a military man himself.

By the mid-1960's Jacques had won another Oscar and had been honored at the White House by John Kennedy. Then in 1968 he began his series, The Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau. Jacques was a household name.

Jacques' research later expanded to more general exploration and he conducted projects with various countries and government agencies. But he is still remembered best for his work beneath the waves. In 1953 Jacques was salvaging the wreck of a ship that had sunk just off the bay of Marseille around 250 BC. Although the ship was Greek, inscriptions indicated that the boat had been owned by Marcus Sestus, a Roman politician and businessman. The excavators hypothesized the boat, hugging the coast as was the navigational custom of the time, had run aground.

The European editor of the North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA) came aboard the Calypso and interviewed Jacques. At that point they had just been able to recover deck cargo which included over 1500 amphora - clay wine jars - and many of them still had the clay seals intact and the contents inside.

Jacques approached the discovery of 2000 year old wine like a true fils de France and tried a sample. It was disgusting, he said.

Oh, yes. The NANA editor who interviewed Jacques was a one-time stock broker who had just published what was to be his first novel. His name was Ian Fleming.

A One-Time Stock Broker
(He interviewed Jacques.)

...
"2,200 Year Old Wine from Wreck; It Tastes Terrible", Ian Fleming, Milwaukee Journal, April 23, 1953. Yes, this article was written by the Ian Fleming of James Bond fame. He was a reporter and editor for the North American News Alliance.

2005: Ian Fleming Publications releases Kev Walker's illustration of thirteen-year-old Young Bond.

2013: Ian Fleming's Casino Royale is one of twenty titles given out on World Book Night.

Books given away on World Book Night
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-22266106
23 April 2013

More than 20,000 volunteers have handed out hundreds of thousands of free books
as part of the third World Book Night.

Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale and Jojo Moyes' best-seller Me Before You were among the 20 titles being given away.

The event aims to promote literacy in the "spirit of generosity, passion and mass participation".

Each volunteer was due to give out 20 copies of their favourite book to people who do not normally read.

Rose Tremain, whose The Road Home was part of the mass giveaway, described it as a "kind of benign Ponzi scheme for the mighty word".

And Tracy Chevalier, whose historical novel Girl with a Pearl Earring was part of the giveaway, signed up as a volunteer. She was due to hand out Tremain's Orange Prize-winning novel as her book of choice.

Writer and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli hosted an evening of readings by authors, poets and performers in one of four flagship events across the UK.

His event at London's Southbank on Tuesday was due to feature Irish playwright Sebastian Barry, actor Charles Dance and One Day writer David Nicholls.

Hundreds of libraries, village halls and local book clubs also celebrated World Book Night across the UK. Some 100,000 of the 500,000 books were due to be distributed in hospitals, shelters, care homes, community centres and prisons.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 24th

1946: Virginia North is born--London, England. (She dies 5 June 2004 at age 58--West Sussex, England.)
2008: Aris Cominos crashes an Alfa Romeo near Lake Garda in Limone sul Garda, northern Italy, stopping filming.

Stuntman injured on James Bond set
https://thestar.com/entertainment/2008/04/24/stuntman_injured_on_james_bond_set.html

2011: The inaugural Boscobel Jamaica Air Show celebrates the recent opening of Ian Fleming International Airport, Boscobel, St. Mary.

jis.gov.jm/hundreds-at-ian-fleming-airport-air-show-2/

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 25th

1964: From Russia With Love--released in Japan theaters.

4_044-045_frwl_opt_custom-a094a757e9800a3f42a9826621721d218002c2f2-s800-c15.jpg

1969 [actual date unknown]: Bond on holiday is taken for a ride in Draco's Rolls Royce across Ponte 25 de Abril (25 April Bridge) near Lisbon, Portugal.

James Bond Locations
https://jamesbondlocations.blogspot.com/2016/05/ponte-25-de-abril-lisbon.html
18 May 2016
Ponte 25 de Abril - Lisbon

In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond is holidaying on the Portuguese riviera, in Estoril. As Bond is abducted by Draco's men at the Hotel Palacio and taken to Draco, Draco's Rolls Royce is seen driving across the famous Ponte 25 de Abril (25 April Bridge) just outside of Lisbon. The action is likely supposed to be set on the French Riviera, but all action was shot on location in Portugal. Not much is made to get the audience to believe that you are in France.

Ponte 25 de abril with the Cristo Rei statue in the bcakground

The bridge is called Ponte 25 de Abril, and is connecting the city of Lisbon to the municipality of Almada on the south bank of the Tejo river. Tejo river forms the large bay which banks Lisbon is situated on. The city is vaguely visible in the background as Bond is driven across the bridge.

Driving across this bridge, coming from Lisbon, is a great experience and definitely a must see location if you are visiting Lisbon.

The city of Lisbon seen in the background

"-And where is the party this time?
-You have an appointment...
-Business or pleasure?"

Another landmark that gives away this location in the film, is the statue of Christ that can be seen in the far background, as the Rolls Royce is driving out on the bridge. This monument, known as Cristo Rei in Portuguese, was inspired by the more famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro and was inaugurated in 1959 following the approval of Salazar. You have a magnificent view over both Ponte 25 de Abril and the city of Lisbon from the viewpoint below this statue in Almada, which is only a 20 min drive from central Lisbon. The view over Lisbon both from the bridge and from the viewpoint is beautiful.

Lisbon can be seen in the background on the right side of the bridge.

The 25 April bridge was inaugurated in 1966, and was thus almost brand new at the time of filming On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The bridge was originally called Salazar Bridge, named after the Portuguese prime minister and dictator António de Oliveira Salazar who ruled Portugal between 1932 and 1968. Following the carnation revolution on 25 April 1974, which ultimately led to a free and democratic Portugal, the name of the bridge was changed to Ponte 25 de Abril.

The bridge would also feature during one of the final scenes in the film as Bond and Tracy are driving away from their wedding reception towards Tracy's inevitable death.

Thunderfinger · April 2018

Haven t seen that bottom poster before. Good one.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 26th

1941: Claudine Auger is born--Paris, France.
1965: Goldfinger released--Madrid, Spain.

1974: Ivana Milicevic is born--Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1978: Stana Katic is born--Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 27th

1959: Sheena Easton is born--Bellshill,North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 28th

1967: Charles K. Feldman premieres Casino Royale in New York at the Capitol and Cinema I.

79363bd61aa731c56ec034a2755be33c--things-to-watch-casino-royale.jpg

1987: Tonia Sotiropoulou is born--Athens, Greece.
1999: John Stears dies at age 64--Los Angeles, California.
(Born 25 August 1934--Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England.)
2008: Filming of the Tosca opera begins at Bregenz, Austria.

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 29th

1917: Milton Reid is born--Bombay, India. (He dies 1987--Bangalore, Karnataka, India.)
2008: Julie Ege dies at age 64--Oslo, Norway. (Born 12 November 1943--Sandnes, Norway.)
1963: Dr. No is released in Sweden.

1967: Bosley Crowther reviews Feldman's Casino Royale in the New York Times.
2012: Filming of the pre-titles sequence stopped for the principal cast and crew to attend a press conference at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. (Then filming resumed the same day.)

https://filmreviewonline.com/2012/05/02/skyfall-bond-23-istanbul/

Skyfall+James+Bond+Photocall+sCm_ryg1R0Zx.jpg

ist_palace_and_historical_gate.jpg;width=1920;height=1080;mode=crop;anchor=middlecenter;autorotate=true;quality=90;scale=both;progressive=true;encoder=freeimage

Torgeirtrap · April 2018

RichardTheBruce wrote: »

2012: Filming of the pre-titles sequence stopped for the principal cast and crew to attend a press conference at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. (Then filming resumed the same day.)

https://filmreviewonline.com/2012/05/02/skyfall-bond-23-istanbul/

Where does Ola Rapace have his right hand, I wonder…

RichardTheBruce · April 2018

April 30th

1964: From Russia With Love is released--Argentina.

from+russia+with+love+desde+rusia+con+amor+newspaper+ad+james+bond+007+mac+Macario+Gomez+.jpg

2015: On set photo of Dave Bautista as Hinx released to the press.

RichardTheBruce · May 2018

May 1st

1929: Rik Van Nutter is born--Los Angeles, California. (He dies 15 October 2005 at age 76--West Palm Beach, Florida.)
1946: Joanna Lumley is born--Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir India.
1963: From a hospital bed in London Ian Fleming comments to wife Ann he is working on a children's book.

She replies: "Oh! those poor kids ...you'll frighten them to death with James Bond Jr.!"

1967: Roger Ebert's Casino Royale review appears in The Chicago Sun-Times.
2008: Samantha Weinberg's The Moneypenny Diaries: The Final Fling is published by John Murray.

RichardTheBruce · May 2018

May 2nd

1932: Bruce Glover is born--Chicago, Illinois.
1967: Title song "You Only Live Twice" is recorded at the CTS Studios in Bayswater, London, 60 piece orchestra.
1985: US premiere of A View to a Kill, the 14th Bond film--San Francisco, California, a key location in the plot.

AViewToAKill_onesheet_EiffelTowerStyle_USA_DanGoozee-1.jpg

michelin-tire-james-bond_u-L-EZCBN0.jpg?src=gp&w=300&h=375

1996: COLD, the final Bond novel by John Gardner, published by Hodder & Stoughton.

%7B53F71C8A-C54D-4525-94ED-971F6BF1DF8D%7DImg400.jpg

2002: Raymond Benson's sixth and final Bond novel The Man With the Red Tattoo is published by Stodder & Houghton.

5477a82c1b125e9770691c76cf135b33--red-tattoos-james-bond.jpg

2008: Once the confirmed release date for BOND 22, at an earlier time when negotiations with director Roger Mitchell pursued his services.

RichardTheBruce · May 2018

May 3rd

1904: Bruce Cabot is born--Carlsbad, New Mexico.
(He dies 3 May 1972 at age 68--Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.)
1927: Joe Robinson is born--Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
(He dies 3 July 2017 at age 90--Brighton East, Sussex, England.)
2014: BBC Radio 4 Saturday Drama airs an audio production of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

wRJQiDTV1p3i8wgfyhr5QxwSabI_PZD6-5ByxdK8axJoqUDMsclfMS9bFWDEaD67KCOmy64=s170

https://bbc.co.uk/programmes/b042cq8f
With Toby Stephens as Bond plus Joanna Lumley, Alfred Molina, Alex Jennings, Lisa Dillon, John Standing, Janie Dee, Lloyd Owen, Joanna Cassidy, Clare Dunne and Julian Sands. Directed by Martin Jarvis, whose voice is heard as Ian Fleming. Produced by Rosalind Ayres.

RichardTheBruce · May 2018

May 4th

1981: New York Magazine reports that in the new John Gardner novels Bond drives a fuel-efficient Swedish auto.

New James Bond Isn't Fuelish
https://books.google.com/books?id=8eUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=%22ian+fleming%22+%22may+4%22&source=bl&ots=HIygL9-nh2&sig=HrnYikwgmyzYk1YwjfeX_wzZr6M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik5-_a4-raAhWwd98KHYHZCh44HhDoAQg0MAI#v=onepage&q=%22ian%20fleming%22%20%22may%204%22&f=false

Times change, and so do superagents. In a new series of James Bond books, 007 will forsake the British-made $109,000 Bentley that he drove in the Ian Fleming novels for a $19,000 "fuel-efficient" Swedish car.

A spokesman for John Gardner, the British novelist who's reviving Fleming's fictional hero, said Bond will now drive a Saab Turbo 900, "because this is the eighties, and it gets nineteen to a gallon to the Bentley's eleven".

Just so everyone gets the message, a Saab has been outfitted with those little 007 features--gun portholes and X-ray goggles for seeing in smoke--to ferry Gardner to a New York party this week to launch his first Bond book for publisher Richard Marek.

Still, Rolls-Royce, which makes the Bentley, is unimpressed.

"I knew Ian Fleming, and the James Bond he created was a chap who lived hard and played hard and didn't care about fuel economy said company official Dennis Miller-Williams.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQEIGZHKz5k3IT3kaGMzQG43BgRZAQdtP7WtGVU049YM2QPpCSU

licence-renewed-by-john-gardner-readers-digest-london-1981-illustrations-by-kevin-tweddell.jpg

And not forgotten.

2000: Doubleshot, the fourth Bond book by Raymond Benson, published by Hodder & Stoughton.

2006: Craig Bond is shown in action for the first time in the teaser trailer.

peter · May 2018

sick!! Still gives me shivers @RichardTheBruce -- and thanks for these "blasts to the past"...

RichardTheBruce · May 2018

May 5th

1944: John Rhys-Davies is born--Ammanford, Wales.
1963: Filming of the From Russia With Love truck chase begins in Istanbul.
1995: Ian Fleming's 1952 gold plated Royal typewriter sells for £56,250 ($90,309) at Christie's in London.

Ian Fleming's gold typewriter auctioned
https://upi.com/Archives/1995/05/05/Ian-Flemings-gold-typewriter-auctioned/7367799646400/
By PAUL BELSITO | May 5, 1995

LONDON, May 5 -- A gold-plated typewriter belonging to British author Ian Fleming, creator of the fictional spy James Bond, was auctioned in Christies' London auction house Friday for 56,250 pounds ($90,500). An anonymous bidder sent representative Tony Quinn to Christies to snap up the typewriter, with strict orders to buy it at any cost. 'They told me to keep bidding,' said Quinn, a psychotherapist with connections to the entertainment business. 'Just go in there and buy it. That was my brief.' Quinn, who is Irish, refused to reveal the identity of the buyer, although he said his colleague was involved in the film industry. 'He's a James Bond fan, but I wouldn't call him a collector,' he said. Quinn also confirmed the buyer was not British. The gold-plated typewriter, commissioned by Fleming from the Royal Typewriter Company in New York in 1952 for $174, was valued at between 5,000 and 8,000 pounds ($8,000 and $12,800), but Christies said they expected it to fetch a higher price. 'We knew it would sell for more than the listed price,' said Christie's press officer Freya Sims. 'We had a lot of interest from abroad and we had six telephone lines going.' Also auctioned were paraphernalia and works by Britain's World War II Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill to coincide with Victory in Europe Day, including a signed note fetching 18,000 pounds ($30,000). But these were overshadowed by fierce bidding for Fleming's typewriter, which drew gasps of excitement from the crowd as prices spiraled.

Fleming gained worldwide recognition as the creator of the famous 007 agent James Bond series. He bought the typewriter after writing the first draft of the first Bond novel 'Casino Royale'. In accordance with family tradition, Fleming used the machine to type all his subsequent novels. It remained in the family after his death in 1964.

Reporting For Duty

Categories

In this Discussion

On This Day

Comments

Reporting For Duty

Quick Links

Categories

In this Discussion

On This Day

Comments