Large collection of James Bond lots at Bonhams auction, Wednesday

Event: The Bond Sale
Location: Bonhams, Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge, London, SW7 1HH
Date: Wednesday 16 November 2005
Time: 10am and 2pm

Sale Viewings:
Sunday 13 Nov 11am to 3pm
Monday 14 Nov 9am to 4:30pm
Tuesday 15 Nov 9am to 4:30pm

The moment Ursula Andress walked out of the sea in Dr No, when Jaws stalks Bond in the Temple of Karnak, the scene in which Q talks Bond through the finer points of his customised Aston Martin…there are so many iconic moments in the James Bond films, it's no surprise that there are a legion of fans clamoring to acquire the original hardware. The tungsten silver Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, for example - last seen on the Icelandic frozen lake with Pierce Brosnan at the wheel in Die Another Day - was sold by Bonhams in May 2003 for a staggering £210,000. It now forms the centrepiece of the Cars of the Stars Museum in the Lake District.

Fortunately, for those on a more modest budget, toy manufacturers made miniature replicas. But even these command a premium. One of the most coveted models was - and, indeed, still is - Corgi's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, available in silver or gold and complete with bullet shield and working ejector seat. But in most cases, because these cars were driven carelessly through sandpits with no regard of their potential worth as collectors' items, wrecks are priced at £20 to £30; those with no miles on the clock and with the cardboard box intact can fetch £250-350.

Such is the demand that, this autumn, Bonhams is dedicating a special section of the Film Memorabilia sale to James Bond hardware. James Bond's essential equipment - his gun, the Walther PPK - has been by his side on all 17 missions. As aficionados know, the piece first appears in Dr. No when 007's Beretta is replaced after a nasty incident when it jammed. Ian Fleming chose it as Bond's weapon after consulting an expert named Major Boothroyd, who informed the author that its small, flat design made it ideal for concealment in a dinner jacket - and that the 7.65mm calibre with a six-round magazine packed a powerful punch. This particular gun, which is featured in the sale, was used in Living Daylights in the scene in which Bond, played by Timothy Dalton, ambushes General Pushkin (John Rhys Davies) in his hotel room in Tangiers. It is estimated to reach £12,000-14,000.

Those more interested in software - Bond's Savile Row suits, for example - are also in for a treat. Roger Moore's brown suit, a real period piece that he wore for Moonraker, 1979, is included in the sale, estimated at £10,000-12,000. But if you really want to re-enact an iconic moment, there's also Donald Pleasance's Blofeld suit for sale, estimate £12,000-15,000. The evil genius behind SPECTRE, the grey-suited Ernst Stavro Blofeld first meets Bond face to face in his hollowed out volcano - with a sliding roof - somewhere in the Pacific. Remember the scene?

I am Ernst Stavro Blofeld. They told me you were assassinated in Hong Kong.
Bond: Yes, this is my second life
Blofeld: You only live twice, Mr Bond.
All that's needed to complete the action is a white cat and a swivel chair.
JAMES BOND: Yes, this is my second life.

Ephemera associated with the film - posters and lobby cards - is also in great demand. The majority of the advertising material was pasted over once the run of the film had ended, so there are few surviving posters of the earlier classics. The hoarding for Goldfinger, with Bond and Pussy Galore superimposed on the image of gold-coated Shirley Eaton, can cost £5,000, while the poster for From Russia With Love, which features small images of a memorable gypsy cat fight and the exotic Turkish dancer, is estimated at £2,500 - 3,000. Even posters of a more recent film in the series now cost a few hundred pounds. This sale features a life-size cardboard display of Pierce Brosnan with his co-star, Halle Berry, with an estimate of £150-200. For Bond fans, it's double-0 heaven.

Click here for further information and to view the lots for auction.

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