Fantastic Sean Connery book covers

It was with deep sorrow every Bond fan across the globe learnt that the first (if not counting Barry Nelson in the 1954 version of Casino Royale), and to many the best James Bond, Sean Connery passed away on October 31th, 2020. He reached the age of 90 and had a very long and successful career from the day he signed on to play James Bond in Ian Fleming's DR. NO. 

To honor his memory I wanted to share some fantastic Ian Fleming book covers from Sweden. They were released during 1965 in a series called "Zebra special" and had all paintings of Sean Connery on the cover. The paintings were done by Yrjö Edelmann (1941-2016) and are just fantastic to look at. 

Below you can find the cover designs using Connery's likeness. 

Casino Royale 

 

Live and let die

Moonraker

Diamonds are forever

From Russia with love

Dr.No

Goldfinger

Thunderball

The Spy who loved me

Ian Fleming's favourite actor for James Bond

When Ian Fleming wrote about James Bond's looks it was very well drawn. James Bond's hight was little over six feet (183 cm) and his weight was around 167 pounds (76 kg). His body was in other words what you today would call slim. Also, Bond is described as dark, cruel and handsome and that woman find him irresistible.

So in 1961 when Producers Albert Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were searching for there actor to play Bond they almost had a blueprint of what the man should look like.

Both Cubby and Harry agreed to let Ian Fleming attend the meetings were James Bond and who he was was discussed and after one of these meetings Fleming send Cubby a fascinating memorandum on the matter.

James Bond is a blunt instrument wielded by a Government Department. He is quiet, hard, ruthless, sardonic, fatalistic. In his relationships with women he shows the same qualities as he does in his job, but he has a certain gentleness with them and if they get in trouble he is sometimes prepared to sacrifice his life to rescue them. But not always, and certainly not if it interferes with his job. He likes gambling, golf and motorcars. 

 In other words. Ian Flemings blueprint for James Bond was more or less a blueprint of himself.

Cary Grant was the first actor to be asked to play James Bond but he turned it down. There second choice was James Mason but he was no fan of the Bond books.

But Ian Fleming had his first choice for the role of James Bond and his name was strangely enough... Roger Moore.

Roger Moore was 34 years old at the time and had actually not received world wide celebrity playing Simon Templer in The Saint.
Cubby Broccoli did not want Roger Moore at that time. He thought Moore was to much of a gentlemen and not the kind of tough guy that they later found in Sean Connery.

But 12 years later in 1973 Ian Fleming would get his wishes come true when Roger Moore played his first role as agent 007. Sadly he never got to see it since he himself passed away in 1964.

The facts for this blog post can be found in THE JAMES BOND ARCHIVES that you need to order here if you have not already done so.

This is James Bonds true age

Over the years there have been a lot of talk about the age of James Bond. How old is Agent 007? When was he born? You can almost get the feeling that no one actually knows.

But the thing is that Ian Fleming told us how old James Bond is in one of the novels.
You can find it for yourself in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE page 241.

"By the time he left [Fettes College], at the early age of seventeen, he had twice fought for the school as a light-weight and had, in addition, founded the first serious judo class at an English public school. By Now it was 1941 and, by claiming an age of nineteen and with the help of an old Vickers colleague of his father, he entered a branch of what was subsequently to become the Ministry of Defence"

So to make it short. In 1941 James Bond was seventeen years old. Then he was born in 1924.

If he was born in 1924 he was 29 years old in 1953 when CASINO ROYALE was published. A book that is written in the present.

Then it was one written mission a year and in an interview with Fleming I have heard him say that every book equals a year in Bonds life (asked about the high amount of female lovers that Bond has).

So if James Bond was born in 1924 and 29 years old in 1953 then he was 40 years old in Flemings last novel THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Note that OCTOPUSSY and THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS were actually published before Ian Fleming past away as short stories in different publications.

Now just for fun lets look at the age of the actors who have portrayed James Bond on screen from the point of view that James Bond should be around 29 years of age.

Sean Connery was born 1930 and therefore 32 years old when appearing in DR.NO.

George Lazenby was born in 1939 and therefore 30 years old when appearing in ON HER MAJESTYS SECRET SERVICE.

Roger Moore was born in 1927 and therefore 46 years old when appearing in LIVE AND LET DIE.

Timothy Dalton was born in 1946 and therefore 41 years old when appearing in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS.

Pierce Brosnan was born in 1953 and therefore 42 years old when appearing in GOLDENEYE. Note that Brosnan was 34 when first offered the role in 1987.

Daniel Craig was born in 1968 and therefore 38 years old when appearing in CASINO ROYALE.

What is does James Bond have in you world. In mine he has always been 36-38. Feel free to comment below.

A young Sean Connery

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: This is where STRIKE LIGHTNING will be set

A little bird whispered in my ear a few weeks back where the upcoming YOUNG BOND novel STRIKE LIGHTNING will be set.
This made me contact the always friendly author Steve Cole and ask him if I was allowed to  reveal the backdrop for the book and just at few hours later I had the approval of both Steve Cole and Ian Fleming Publications.

It was important to me not to revile something that was meant to be kept under wraps until the release of the book on September first.

The book will be set at Fettes College, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The first time we encounter this college in the world of James Bond is is in Ian Flemings own book YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. There you can read the following on page 241.

"It must be admitted that his career at Eton was brief and undistinguished and, after only two halves, as a result, it pains me to record, of some alleged trouble with one of the boys' maids, his aunt was requested to remove him. She managed to obtain his transfer to Fettes, his fathers old school. Here the atmosphere was somewhat Calvinistic, and both academic and athletic standards were rigorous. Nevertheless, though inclined to be solitary by nature, he established some firm friendships among the traditionally famous athletic circles at the school. By the time he left, at the early age of seventeen, he had twice fought for the school as a light-weight and had, in addition, founded the first serious judo class at an English public school."

So this made me pack a bag and jump on the next flight to Edinburgh. I had a school to look at.

In retrospect I understand that I arrived to Fettes not from the entrance but from the left side of the school. All gates where closed and the signs said private property so I was afraid my trip would be very brief. But then a car pulled out from a gate so I went there, pushed the speaker and was connected to someone who asked.

- Yes how can I help you?
- My name is Stephan and I have travelled from Sweden just to look at your school because I write a blog about the James Bond books.
- Do you have a car?
- No!
- Okay I will open the gate for you.

And I was let in. It was so strange. So I walked up towards the building and saw many teenagers hurrying back to school after lunch. I started to take some pictures when a teacher approached me and asked what I was doing. I explained my business, and was sent to the reception desk as a naughty boy. After I had explained my business once again I was allowed to take photos of the building if I had an employee with me.

So for the next ten minutes my wife explained to the employee the level of my collecting and how much of a nerd I was.

The pictures can be seen below.

I believe that many of you know that the rumour has it that Ian Fleming made James Bond half Scottish just because Sean Connery was Scottish and has just finished his second James Bond film when YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE was written. Sean Connery has also said many times that as a kid, he used to deliver the daily milk to Fettes College.

After this trip to Edinburgh I just cant wait until the first of September is here.

If you wish to pre book STRIKE LIGHTNING and make sure you have it on release day you can do so by clicking here!

 

 

Happy birthday, cinematic Bond

Did you know that it is James Bond Cinematic birthday today? Back in 1962, Director Terence Young started shooting the first James Bond film titled  Dr No on January 16, 1962. Today in other words.

When I was in London in early December (you can read about that trip here) I spent a few minutes at The Cinema Store and added to the collection the Cinema Retro's magazine Movie Classics dedicating 148 pages to all there is to know about the making of Dr No. 

I am so happy that I bought this magazine becuase by having it in my backpack I had no problem letting the wife go inside any shop she wanted. I just sat down on a chair picked up the magazine and started reading. It is an fantastic collection of articles and photographs that I have never seen before.

I can not stop thing about what went through the minds of people like Sean Connery, Cubby Brobboli, Harry Zaltsman, Terence Young and Ian Fleming. Was Fleming there on the first day of shooting since he stayed at his house GoldenEye at the time. I know he was there later as you can see on the photo to the right. I also must mention how bold I think it was to put "The first James Bond film" on the poster. But if the fim had flopped no one would have remembered it anyway. 

As most of you know Thunderball was supposed to be the first James Bond film but due to a court case with Kevin McClory about who actually wrote the story producers decided to go with Dr No instead with a script based on the novel released in 1958 with the same title. If you wish to read more about the court case you can do so here.

So are you still not sure If you wish to own this amazing Dr No magazine? Well all I can do is to say that I love it and that it contains the following:

• Matthew Field provides exclusive interviews with Ursula Andress, screenwriter Johanna Harwood and animator Trevor Bond
• Sir Christopher Frayling interviews Sir Ken Adam
• Lee Pfeiffer and Mark Cerulli interview designer Joseph Caroff (the man who designed the 007 gun logo)
• Steve Oxenrider interviews Marguerite Le Wars (who played the sexy Jamaican photographer)
• Lee Pfeiffer interviews legendary artist Mitchell Hooks, the man who created the artwork for the film poster
• Adrian Smith interviews Bettine le Beau (who played the secretary to Prof. Dent)
• Steve Oxenrider tracks down and interviews the Jamaican cast members and entertainers seen in the film
• Ajay Chowdhury and Matthew Field provide an exclusive interview with Monty Norman, composer of the James Bond Theme
• Howard Hughes looks at the changes between the Ian Fleming novel and the film version
• Martijn Mulder looks at Jamaican locations then and now
• Gary Giblin provides insightful analysis of the film's production history
• Oscar-winning sound technician Norman Wanstall recalls creating the innovative sound effects for the film
• Directors Joe Dante and Brian Trenchard-Smith provide personal homages to the movie 
• The life of Ian Fleming by Michael VanBlaricum
• Production Buyer Ron Quelch recalls the challenge of obtaining props for the film
• Alan Tomkins, the last surviving crew member who worked for Ken Adam in Jamaica, recalls his experiences on the film
• Never before published interview with the late Timothy Moxon ("Strangways")
• Foreword by David V. Picker, the man who sealed the deal to bring James Bond to the silver screen
• The lives and careers of legendary producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman 
• The Unseen Dr. No: scripted scenes that never appeared in the final film
• Rare production stills
• Steve Oxenrider interviews actress Yvonne Shima ("Sister Lily")
• The Dr. No comic books
• Behind the scenes photos
• Vintage archival comments about the film from Sean Connery
• Dr. No toys and collectibles
• Rare international movie poster art
• Rare production stills
• Behind the scenes photos
• Rare international movie poster art
  
  You can order your copy of the magazine here or on Ebay for as little as £10.

James Bond signed drawing by John McLusky up for auction

John McLusky painted his first James Bond strip in 1958 for the Daily Express in England. He continued doing so until 1966 making 13 of the James Bond novels into comic strips that are sold even today in book form.
In 1982 John McLysky came back to draw for new James Bond adventures.

It is said that the look of James Bond the way McLusky painted him later became the look Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were after which made them choose Sean Connery in the end to play James Bond.

Up for auction now is a photograph of John McLuskys most famous James Bond drawing (copy) with an original signature. The autograph is made out to Tom so here is an extra chance if you happen to be named Tom. Estimated selling price is between £50-£80. The only wired thing is that Chaucer auctions fail to mention the size of the picture. Quite crucial I would say.You can find the auction here!

I have a copy of this painting in my collection on my wall and it looks amazing. I also have copies for sale that measures 11x15 inches. My price is £20 or $30 and if you happen to be interested you can email me at stephan.backman(a)bredband.net. Frame is not included in the price.

Big James Bond auction in France - Will you bid?

Received in the mail the other day was the MADE IN BOND 2 auction catalogue from French auction house Vermot & Associes.

At here last auction I bought the below Ian Fleming bust that now have a pride place in my collection next to my Cape editions.

What I dont understand is two things. Since the auction house has my email address, why dont they send me an email with the link to the auction instead of paying 5 euros in postage to send me a folder with an urge to visit there website. Its 2015 and that would be so much more eco friendly.

Anyhow there will be a lot of cool stuff for sale even if I think that this time I will not bid on anything since I mainly collect James Bond books.

You can check out there entire James Bond catalogue by clickling here. The auction is on November 13 and the number of lots are a whooping 290.

Did you notice this in SPECTRE?

The day after the Royal gala premiere of the new James Bond film SPECTRE took place this Monday, IAN FLEMING PUBLICATIONS had their special screening of the film for family, friends and specially invited. Amongst the invited was Young Bond author Charlie Higson, Andrew Lycett (author of the Ian Fleming biography) and Kate Millis, fiction editor at Orion publishing who publishes the James Bond novels. 

When reading there Twitter feed they all seemed to enjoy the film allot. I myself will have to wait until tomorrow at 14:15 (here in Stockholm Sweden) to see SPECTRE. Since hardly anyone has not liked it my expectations gets higher by the hour. I have not even seen a trailer for the film yet, kept my self totally in the dark not reading any interviews and so on.

IAN FLEMING PUBLICATIONS has posted a blog post on there website this Monday saying that there will be a scene in SPECTRE that has its origin from the COLONEL SUN book written by Kingsley Amis under the name Robert Markham in 1968. 

My COLONEL SUN Australian book club edition.

The Colonel Sun scene which features in SPECTRE is one of pivotal importance both to the film and the book and fans are encouraged to identify which part stems from Amis’ pen.
Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. commented that ‘The Fleming family and The Kingsley Amis Estate hope that fans of SPECTRE will be encouraged to reach for this thrilling book by one of the finest writers of the 20thcentury.’

Also out this week is another BBC Radio program about James Bond / Ian Fleming and Scotland. It is hosted by Robbie Coltrane who appeared in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.
The radio program is called is called JAMES BOND: LICENCE TO KILT and can be found by clicking here. The show is 28 minutes long. Enjoy!

If you wish to buy your copy of COLONEL SUN and sponsor the blog at the same time you can do so by order your book on Amazon UK below.

Record breaking price for Swedish James Bond comic

Today a Swedish James Bond comic was sold to a new record breaking price.

It was the first issue of the comic magazine JAMES BOND AGENT 007 from 1965 that was sold for the record price of 245 Euro / $278 / £179.

The Swedish James Bond comic ran for thirty years in Sweden (1965-1995).

The first comic had Sean Connery on the cover and the story was Ian Fleming's GOLDFINGER drawn by John McLusky

These comics are now 50 years old and very rare to find. One can wonder how many actually exists to this day in good condition. I am happy to say that I have two of these in my collection but I started collecting this magazine when I was 12 years old 26 years ago.