Christie's is going to hold "fifty years of James Bond" sale. All proceeds of the auction will benefit UNICEF's work for children and other charitable causes.
Forty lots of Bond memorabilia will be offered at an online auction, followed by ten further lots to be auctioned at an invitation evening event on the fifth of October, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the first screening of Dr. No. It is a shame the new Bond film will not be screened on this date. Lots include the blue trunks Craig wore in Casino Royale, a detailed scale model of the space shuttle from Moonraker, a few first edition Fleming novels and... the Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace
One or two lots would make nice stocking stuffers in case anyone is struggling what to get me for christmas.....
I was really looking forward to this exhibition. Unfortunately I was neither shaken nor stirred. It started off promisingly enough with a recreation of Shirley Eaton in gold paint (Goldfinger) on a rotating bed, and the golden gun (Man with the Golden Gun), and a few other choice gold pieces, but the next casino themed room had a few mannequins that were horribly disproportioned, making most of the clothing looking dumpy and flat for chubby short actors. I have heard that the camera can put on a few pounds, but the way things were displayed, they would have made everyone the size of Humpty Dumpty on screen.
There are a few models of the underwater Lotus and quite a few villains' costumes, but the whole experience, split in to three separate areas left me underwhelmed and wanting a martini to drown my sorrows, not celebrate.
In a separate area to the right of the exhibition there is a silver birch Aston Martin DB5, paired with a recreation of the suit that Sean Connery wore to Goldfinger's ranch in Kentucky. At no point in time was Sean Connery ever filmed with that suit and the Aston. It somehow seems out of place and a poor mannequin makes the suit look limp and ill fitting.
The highlight for me was probably the first edition covers on display. Tells you I am getting old. We took inspiration from the first edition cover of Goldfinger to come up with a tie design in homage. They are almost all sold out.
Exhibition details at the Barbican can be found here.
