Article by Dick Woodgate As if in a nod to James Bond the ornithologist, Fleming’s short story, For Your Eyes Only, begins with a detailed description of a Caribbean humming bird before moving on to describe a colonial scene in Fleming’s beloved Jamaica (A little Easter egg here: The Blue Harbor Hotel is mentioned in…
An extraordinary collection of Ian Fleming manuscripts, first editions and ephemera go under the hammer at Sotheby’s on October 28th, 2020. The collection is entitled ‘James Bond: A Collection of Books and Manuscripts, The Property of a Gentleman‘ Of particular interest in this archive of treasure, relates to the dust-jacket of For Your Eyes Only, which…
This week, courtesy of the paintbrush of Gerald Wadsworth is the lesser know Ian Fleming short story “Risico”, from Ian Fleming’s short story collection For Your Eyes Only. An escape to Venice sounds ideal right now! The Inspirations In creating imagery for this painting, it seemed logical that a Venice canal scene should dominate the painting.…
Never meet your heroes they say. Well, in some cases it’s no bad thing. For Ian Fleming, it was a thrill to meet ‘the real James Bond’, whose name many argue was the inspiration for his titular hero, taken from the birding book – Birds of the West Indies. A new book about this meeting…
On 18 March 1959 Fleming had written to Richard Chopping about the cover he had undertaken for Goldfinger, saying that: “The new jacket is quite as big a success as the first one and I do think [Jonathan] Cape have made a splendid job of it”. Once again, Chopping was asked to provide the cover…
Today marks a very special day, for on this day in 1957 Ian Fleming met a young illustrator that was to prove pivotal in the lives of both men and the future of the James Bond novels. That illustrator was Richard Wasey Chopping. We spoke to one of Chopping’s trustees – Jon Lys Turner –…
Herbert O. Yardley seemed Fleming’s kind of man – gambler, code-breaker, rascal and whistle-blower. On the anniversary of his death, Graham M. Thomas delves into his incredible story. *** In early 1959, Ian Fleming contributed a three page preface to a book on how to win at poker: ‘The Education of a Poker Player‘ was a…
On this Bastille Day, we are delighted to welcome our French cousins commander007.net at Station F, to contribute their thoughts on James Bond in France. Profitez! In 11 novels and 9 short stories, Bond travels five times through 1950’s France. While Bond is now famous for being a great globe-trotting spy, it is surprising that Fleming, an author…
Article by Craig Arthur *** A quirk of the combination of Ian Fleming’s For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy story collections in the new Quantum Of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories, is that the book begins and ends with Bond day-dreaming about a woman named Solange. In the opening story, From a View…
Since 2010, Gerry Wadsworth has been painting in watercolor and for the past two years has been working on “An Homage to James Bond” – a series of visual interpretations of books of Ian Fleming and the James Bond films. We welcome him in from the cold to answer to debrief. What ignited your passion…
Additional quotes by Michael May; Illustrations ©George Almond where indicated courtesy of http://www.007magazine.co.uk/ Last month we ran down 10-6 in our series on literary Bond that deserves more screen time. This week, we wrap up our list with 5-1. Let us know if you agree or would suggest more? 5. The Havelock murders in Jamaica and Vermont shoot-out scene…
Additional quotes by Michael May; Illustrations ©George Almond where indicated – Courtesy of http://www.007magazine.com With each new James Bond film (including the upcoming SPECTRE) there is always speculation about how much source material is left to use. In some cases, merely the title of one of Fleming’s books was used, with the original story left…
This week we welcome Jonathan Hopson from the V & A Museum in London, in from the cold, to submit his Field Report. What is your favourite Chopping cover and why? It’s a difficult choice, but For Your Eyes Only is exceptional. I admire the contrasting textures of paper, wood, metal and flesh. Chopping obviously enjoyed painting…
Words by Revelator After reading Mathew Parker’s book it will be impossible to over-estimate the importance of Jamaica to James Bond. Beginning with Fleming’s wartime discovery of the island, Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born is a chronological countdown of his years there, interlaced with a concurrent history of country. Goldeneye, Fleming’s Jamaican residence, mirrored the…
Article by Revelator After For Your Eyes Only Bond was no longer a wonderful machine. Nor was he a fully-dimensional, complex human being—that would involve surrendering his role as a male-fantasy projection—but he was considerably more human than before. Why? Because Ian Fleming failed. He explained why in an interview with Counterpoint: Now, you’ll notice that…
The new paperback cover art for William Boyd’s SOLO, to be published in the UK by Random House on 8th May . The new design combines the SOLO typeface featured on the hardback edition with elements of the photographic style seen on the 007 contemporary Vintage series. The single eye that stares boldly from the centre is reminiscent of…
Ian Fleming had many homes from home but none more so than at his great friend’s farm in southern Vermont. He used to visit his friend Ivar Bryce at Black Hole Hollow Farm right on the border between New York and Vermont. Fleming’s first visit to Vermont was to visit Bryce who he had first met…
Artistic Licence Renewed 