The most comprehensive collection of Ian Fleming material to come to auction.

 The Jon Gilbert Collection

An exceptional collection of material that document the tumultuous embryonic stages of getting Bond onto the Big Screen. Thunderball was originally intended to be the first ever Bond movie and was written purely for the screen by the Irish writer and director Kevin McClory and the screenwriter Jack Whittingham, in collaboration with Ian Fleming. From mid-1959 the writing process began, but over time the relationship between McClory, Whittingham and Fleming soured. While Fleming was at his house, Goldeneye, in Jamaica in early 1960, he wrote the novel Thunderball, based on the screenplay. McClory read an advance copy of the book the following year and immediately petitioned the High Court to stop its publication. This eventually led to the McClory v Fleming hearing. Fleming was unwell at the time and suffered a heart attack during the hearing. He suffered his fatal heart attack on 12 August 1964, nine months after the trial. When Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman formed Eon in 1961, they attained the rights of the James Bond movies. The company wanted to produce Thunderball first and drafted Richard Maibaum in, which resulted in lot 84. However, because of the ongoing court case, they decided against this and proceeded with Dr. No instead. Thunderball was developed further in 1964 and 1965, hitting the screen, finally, in December that year.

An exceptional collection of material that document the tumultuous embryonic stages of getting Bond onto the Big Screen.

The Estate of Kevin McClory

RM Sotheby's is proud to offer two iconic Bond automobiles as part of the James Bond on Bond Street sale series. The use of the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger catapulted the car into the stratosphere. It is now synonymous with James Bond. This beautifully restored example comes in Goodwood Green, and was previously owned by the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. The 1987 Aston Martin V8 Volante was treasured by Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli, who bought it new in 1987 and owned it until his death in 1996. 'Cubby' Broccoli was the co-producer of all the EON Bond films. The V8 Volante was selected to be in the 1987 film, The Living Daylights, with Timothy Dalton as Bond.

RM Sotheby’s Celebrates Bond

Focusing on the era of Bond at his most classic, the cinematic offering includes rare early posters from the films starred in by Sean Connery and Roger Moore, including the poster for the first ever Bond film, Dr. No. 

Original Movie Posters

London

Cataloguer

Fenella Theis

Books and Manuscripts

William Passey

Meet our Specialists

Sotheby’s are delighted to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, with James Bond on Bond Street. This sale series features an exceptional range of books, movie posters, memorabilia, cars, whisky, watches and more, offered both at auction and for 
 
 <a class="Link" href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond">immediate purchase</a>
 
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