NEW IAN FLEMING CATALOG COMING

Jon Gilbert, editor of Ian Fleming: The Bibliography, has announced that Adrian Harrington is releasing a new Ian Fleming Catalog. I am interested to hear about the scope of the book and about whether it will contain images of rare artifacts. Iain Campbell's collection catalog was a go-to resource for many years, but Gilbert's Bibliography has since become the premiere reference book about Fleming's publications. More news coming soon! Jon Gilbert posted this image of the book on-line today- the 60th anniversary of Casino Royale. Read Spy Vibe's interview with Jon Gilbert here. 

CASINO ROYALE TURNS 60

"He was a secret agent, and still alive thanks to his exact attention to the detail of his profession." Ian Fleming introduced the world to James Bond agent 007 on April 13th, 1953. Happy 60th to Casino Royale!

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

BIRTH OF BOND THIS WEEKEND

Starts Friday: Celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, with a host of amazing events planned at the University of Illinois. In addition to an exhibit of rare manuscripts and materials, visitors can also look forward to film screenings, concerts, and special  presentations by Bond scholars, John Cork, Michael VanBlaricum, and Raymond Benson. It all starts tomorrow! Full schedule on the event website here. Hear VanBlaricum's in-depth NPR interview about Bond and the 60th events here.

From the University News Bureau: "Titled 'The Birth of Bond: Ian Fleming’s ‘Casino Royale’ at 60,' the event will feature a collection of first editions, manuscripts and Fleming ephemera at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library; a film festival and display of Bond movie costumes and props at the Spurlock Museum; a collection of audio recordings, photographs and sheet music (including the original 2006 “Casino Royale” score) at the Sousa Archives; and a performance of music from the Bond movies and books by the U. of I. Concert Jazz Band.

Much of the material featured in “The Birth of Bond” comes from the collection of Michael L. VanBlaricum [below], the president of the Ian Fleming Foundationand a U. of I. alumnus who is loaning pieces of his personal collection of Fleming first editions, manuscripts, letters, recordings, sheet music and movie props to the three campus sites.



VanBlaricum will give a one-hour talk on Fleming and Bond at 3 p.m. on April 12 (Friday), in the library auditorium (Room 66), followed by a reception in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Room 346). The jazz concert, on April 13 (Saturday), will begin at 7 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum, and will include a piano medley of Bond themes performed by Raymond Benson,one of the continuation authors hired by the Fleming family to carry on the James Bond novels after Ian Fleming’s death, as well as themes from the Bond movies and music mentioned in Fleming’s books." More details at the event website here.

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

VICTOR VASARELY: OP MAESTRO

Spy Vibe celebrates the birthday of Victor Vasarely. Born on this day in 1906, the Hungarian-French artist created pieces in the 1930s that are often considered some of the earliest examples of Op Art. Spy Vibers might enjoy his kinematic images on acrylic glass from the 1950s. Vasarely died in 1996 at the age of ninety. Check out the official website to see images from his long career. You can also learn about him on the Op Art website. The graphics in the image below, with its hypnotic patterns, prominent ring, and sunglasses, conjure up fond memories of many films in the 1960s Spy Vibe style. Without Op, the world would not have become quite so groovy. The portrait looks like it could be a scene from The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse. Fantastic!

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

SPY VIBE PINTEREST

Visit Spy Vibe's Pinterest page for image archives celebrating Ian Fleming, space-age design, cliffhanger serials, Fantomas and Judex, vintage comic heroes, funny pages, mystery novels, action, and more!

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

IAN FLEMING: RARE AUCTION

Collectors of Ian Fleming now have a chance to pick up two unusual pieces on eBay. The first is a softcover edition of William Plomer's Memorial Service for Fleming. The ten-page volume was printed privately in 1964 and only 50 copies of the hardbound edition were made. Presumedly many more copies of this softcover edition exist, though they are quite rare. Auction details here. The second item is Iain Campbell's collection catalog of Fleming's manuscripts and books. Also printed in very small numbers, the volume features reproductions of Fleming's notes and manuscripts, as well as images of his home library. Jon Gilbert, editor of Ian Fleming: The Bibliography, tells me that he found this catalog very useful in the past- so much so that he wore out his copy! Gilbert's new bibliography surpasses all previous catalogs, but this remains an interesting piece for a collection. Auction details here. The eBay price is quite high, so Spy Vibers may want to shop around on Amazon or Bookfinder. You can also find the catalog at James Bond First Editions here. 

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

DOUBLE 007 DESIGN

They say that if you travel far enough, you eventually meet your double. In the world of book design, it turns out that you don't have to travel that far after all! Spy Vibers might enjoy seeing these classic James Bond cover designs for Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever (Great Pan/1958) and For Your Eyes Only (Great Pan/1962). Although the covers are quite familiar to Bond fans, I imagine that few have paired them up alongside their doppelgängers. 

Widow's Pique by Blair Treynor was a murder mystery published in paperback by Perma Books in 1957- apparently one year before the release of Diamonds Are Forever! One might imagine that Perma was sharing the illustration with Pan (a Macmillon imprint), but Perma was an imprint of Doubleday. Was it a case of plagiarism, or did a busy illustrator 'double-dip' to save time? Author Jeremy Duns suggested that this was the work of illustrator James Meese. Original Meese artwork for Widow's Pique below is from a cover archive here. Additionally, Jon Gilbert's Ian Fleming: The Bibliography lists that Diamonds Are Forever was illustrated by Rex Arthur in 1958. 

Likewise, we can see J. Oval's portrait in For Your Eyes Only repeated five years later on the cover of The Devil's Secret, a Johnny Nero adventure published in the Fleetway Super Library series in 1967 [Spy Vibe exposed this pairing in our Fleetway Super Library post here]. Have Spy Vibers uncovered similar design doppelgängers? Let us know!

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

JAMES BOND 60TH: MICHAEL VANBLARICUM

Michael VanBlaricum of the Ian Fleming Foundation will host a gala opening for the 60th anniversary exhibit, The Birth of Bond, next Friday at the University of Illinois. Visitors fortunate to make the journey to the show will have a chance to see a number of Ian Fleming's rare manuscripts and artifacts. The event also features exhibits celebrating the Bond films and the music of James Bond. 007 continuation author, Raymond Benson, will perform in a Bond-themed concert on Saturday night. VanBlaricum has just published an article about the 60th anniversary in the new issue of Fine Books & Collections. Copies of the issue are available on the magazine's website for $8.00 plus shipping. Details here. 

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

007: KOREAN AIR BEYOND

The new issue of Beyond, Korean Air's in-flight magazine, features a number of articles about Ian Fleming and James Bond. The issue begins with a look at Ian Fleming and the spy boom in literature. Beyond continues with an examination of Fleming's life and the city of London, followed by articles about 007 style and how the series is viewed in the context of the times. Spy Vibers will spot some fave icons, like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and an unusual reference to Gulyashki's The Zakhov Mission. You can read the issue now as an ebook on-line here. 

Ian Fleming on Spy Vibe: recent posts include Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, and our Ian Fleming image archive link here.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, 007 at the Intnl Spy Museum, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, and more. 

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!

ADAM DIMENT PHOTO

There is an interesting artifact currently listed on eBay that might appeal to collectors of author Adam Diment. Diment enjoyed success as a spy novelist and playboy in the late 1960s and early 1970s, before disappearing from public view forever. An archive 5.2 x 7.5 photo of Diment from the files of the Baltimore Sun is up for auction with a buy-it-now price of $14.99. The newspaper's watermark does not appear on the actual photograph. More details here. 

Check out Spy Vibe for recent posts about Ian Fleming, James Bond, The Shadow, and more! 

DEAL ALERT: IAN FLEMING

Deal Alert: Ian Fleming's non-fiction books Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers were recently rereleased by Vintage Classics in the UK and by Amazon in the US. Amazon's editions were produced with b&w abstract designs with red type to match their new 007 book collection. Amazon is currently selling The Diamond Smugglers for $4.54 and Thrilling Cities for $6.44. This is a good time to pick them up if you have been meaning to add these titles to your Fleming library.

Check out Spy Vibe for recent posts about Ian Fleming, James Bond, The Shadow, 1960s spy authors, and more!

THE SHADOW BLU-RAY

I'm a big fan of classic claffhanger serials and radio shows. Despite their low budgets, they often captured the fun mystery/adventure vibe of the pulp heroes from the early 20th Century. Hollywood efforts to bring these properties to the big screen have often missed their mark. Most misfires seem to have suffered from dumbing the material down further, becoming too stylized or self-conscious, or from introducing too many edgy or modern elements. One film that managed to achieve some successful sequences and a great cast was The Shadow (1994) with Alec Baldwin. The screenplay was by David Koepp (Mission Impossible, Jack Ryan, Panic Room, Spider-Man), who drew on the original stories and preserved the vintage atmosphere. Fans of the film can finally enjoy a region 1 Blu-ray release on June 4th. It is currently available for pre-order from Amazon for $14.99.

From Blu-ray: "Universal Studios Home Entertainment is bringing director Russell Mulcahy and screenwriter David Koepp's The Shadow to Blu-ray on June 4th. The action-packed adaptation of the 1930s pulp radio serial stars Alec Baldwin as playboy-by-day, vigilante-by-night hero Lamont Cranston, John Lone as the villainous Shiwan Khan, Penelope Ann Miller as a telepathic socialite and Ian McKellen as her father, a War Department scientist."

"Synopsis: 'Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?' The Shadow knows! When an opium dealer named Lamont Cranston is transformed into a heroic crime fighter, he takes on the alter ego of The Shadow and begins battling evil with his newfound power to cloud men's minds. Soon The Shadow faces his greatest enemy: Shiwan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Kahn taught and trained by the same Tibetan mystic as Cranston. With the help of cab driver Moe Shrevnitz (Peter Boyle), The Shadow must stop Kahn from using atomic science to unspeakably destructive ends. Directed by Mulcahy (Highlander) from a script by Koepp (Mission: Impossible), the film also features performances from Tim Curry, Jonathan Winters and James Hong

The Blu-ray edition of The Shadow is presented in 1080p with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. No special features are included."

Check out Spy Vibe for recent posts about Ian Fleming, James Bond, Eurospy, 1960s spy writers, and more!

IAN FLEMING: ROYAL QUIET DELUXE

I've often wondered what it felt like for Ian Fleming to sit at his Royal Quiet Deluxe Gold typewriter. We sometimes see Gold Royals on eBay, but the models always seem to be a slightly different design. What made Fleming's circa 1952 model unique? To answer this, I corresponded with agent Cary Mark, who had posted some news and images about his father's 1953 Gold Royal, similar to the one Fleming owned. I believe someone out there is working on a database to catalog the typewriters and their design variations. But in the meantime, I thought you would enjoy seeing some photographs of Cary Mark's Royal Quiet Deluxe Gold. I asked  him to shoot close-ups, including some studies of specific keys, so that I could make this collage for my fellow Fleming fans!

I also asked Cary to describe some of the unique features of his 1953 model. "The Fleming model is more streamlined and has rounded front corners, compared to the square model one sees on eBay. You can see that the gold case runs in front of the black space bar. The other model has squared-off front corners and the black space bar looks totally different at the very front of the typewriter. The two levers on the front panel that control ribbon color and ribbon reverse look totally different on both models, as well as the trim surrounding them. Since they are different models, I am guessing that many of the individual parts are different and not interchangeable." 

It has been suggested that Royal Golds were designed by different designers during different years, but we have not verified specific names yet. Here are some of the new close-ups from Cary Mark, plus a nice "portrait" from a collector site, and a second collage I created. Imagine, if you will, typing out the manuscripts for early classics like Casino Royale (about to celebrate its 60th anniversary this month!), Live and Let Die and Moonraker. Tap-tap-tap.

The auction literature from Christie's had this to say about Fleming's famous model, sold as Lot 122 in 1995: Price Realized £55,750 
($89,144)
 Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits. Estimate £5,000 - £8,000 ($7,995 - $12,792)

Lot Description

IAN LANCASTER FLEMING (1908-64)
A Royal Quiet De Luxe portable typewriter, circa 1952, with gold-plated body and fittings, four-row keyboard, 11 x 11 x 6in., in composition carrying case, the attached paper tag with printed address: "The Pantechnicon, Heathfield Terrace" and manuscript inscription: "Mrs I. Fleming 4, 23-2-73."


Provenance

By direct descent to the Hon. Mrs Fionn Morgan, the writer's stepdaughter (sold with a letter of provenance).

Lot Notes

Ian Fleming commissioned this typewriter from the Royal Typewriter Company in New York in the spring of 1952, as a replacement for his old Imperial. The first draft of the novel Casino Royale, introducing 007 agent James Bond, had been read enthusiastically by Fleming's publishers Jonathan Cape. However they commented that "although the details were original and interesting ... the book, though publishable, needed extensive revision." For this revision, Fleming had chosen a symbol to remind himself where, with luck, his future lay. This was a new typewriter to replace his old Imperial, a golden typewriter. He had ordered it in New York and on May 17th, some weeks before submitting the manuscript to his publisher, he wrote to a his friend Ivar Bryce in New York asking him to bring the typewriter over on his next trip to England: "Here is one vital request. I am having constructed for me by the Royal Typewriter Company a golden typewriter which is to cost $174. I will not tell you why I am acquiring this machine." The gold-plated typewriter duly arrived and Fleming completed the revised manuscript which was accepted by Jonathan Cape for publication the following April. Fleming typed all his subsequent novels on this gleaming but compact machine that seems to encapsulate the half-fantasy world of ostentatious 1950's gadgetry so familiar from the Bond novels themselves." 

Did you know that Spy Vibe has a Pinterest page? You can see Spy Vibe graphics, dynamic vintage action, cliffhanger serials, Japanese designs from the 1920s, vintage mystery novels, and more! Visit our Ian Fleming Image Archive here. Also in Spy Vibe news, I have a spy novella coming out soon! Stay tuned for more info.

Check Spy Vibe for recent posts about Ian Fleming: the 60th Anniversary of Casino Royale, Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, plus my recent series about Ian Fleming's music: Noel Coward,Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr. Other recent posts include Cold War Photography, Operation Kid Brother (MST3K), PG Tips Brooke Bond, 1960s espionage writers, my review of SKYFALL, and more.

Want to support Spy Vibe? Please make a small donation with our secure Paypal tip-jar link at the top left of the main page. Nothing is too small to help cover the increasing bills for the domain, web-forwarding and other costs to maintain the site. Thank you!