For Your Eyes Only
Last updated: 18/06/2008 - 12:56
Ian Fleming centenary celebrated with a special exhibition at London's Imperial War Museum.
To celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, Imperial War Museum London is producing the first major exhibition devoted to the life and work of the man who created the world’s most famous secret agent: 007, James Bond.
Featuring fascinating material, much on public display for the first time, For Your Eyes Only looks at the author and his fictional character in their historical context and examine how much of the Bond novels were imaginary and how far they were based on real people and events. This exhibition will explore the early life of Ian Fleming, his wartime career and work as a journalist and travel writer and how, as an author, he drew upon his own experiences to create the iconic character of James Bond that continues to have global appeal.
Goldeneye
On display will be rare material including Fleming’s desk and chair from his Jamaican home Goldeneye, where he wrote all of the Bond novels; a map of the Mercury News Network established by Ian Fleming in the 1950s showing where all Sunday Times foreign correspondents were based; the jacket worn by Fleming on the Dieppe Raid of 1942; a selection of annotated Bond manuscripts; the Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver presented to Fleming by the Colt company in 1964; the manuscript for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a working model of an Aston Martin DB5 made for HRH Prince Andrew in 1966, complete with gadgets from the Sean Connery-starring films Thunderball and Goldfinger.
The ‘blood-splattered’ shirt worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale will be displayed for the first time along with prototypes of Rosa Klebb’s flick knife shoes in From Russia with Love; Halle Berry’s bikini from Die Another Day and Goldfinger’s golf shoes which have been loaned by the EON Productions’ archive.
For Your Eyes Only will show how Fleming’s wartime experiences informed the Bond plots and inspired many of the iconic heroes and villains, such as 'M' and Ulric Goldfinger, and how the Cold War period of spies and technology provided the stage in which Bond could operate. The exhibition will examine to what extent the books and films reflect the reality of the Cold War and life in post-war Britain and how far they were a product of Fleming’s prodigious imagination.
Legacy
It concludes with Fleming’s legacy, exploring how one man’s idea generated an entire industry, not only books and films, but also parodies, toys, games and clothes. Over fifty years after his first appearance in print, James Bond continues to exert a grip on the global imagination and Fleming remains a classic writer of his generation.
The official book to accompany the Imperial War Museum exhibition For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond is also out now, from Bloomsbury. Written by the bestselling author of Costa short-listed Agent Zigzag¸ Ben Macintyre and full of lavish photography, this book is the perfect celebration of Ian Fleming and his remarkable creation, James Bond.
In addition to the display 2008 will be dedicated to a broad range of events and publications designed to celebrate the life of Ian Fleming. Central to the programme is the publication earlier this year of Devil May Care, the new James Bond book written by Sebastian Faulks in the hard-boiled style of Fleming himself. Published by Penguin Books on Fleming's hundredth birthday - 28th May, further information is available on the deicated Penguin/Bond website: www.penguin007.co.uk
The IMperial War Museum in Lambeth forms part of the UK's national Imperial War Museum collection of war and conflict heritage, which now includes: The Imperial War Museum Duxford (which specialises in aviation history) Imperial War Museum North, The Imperial War Museum London in Lambeth (incorporating The Holocaust Museum) and the retired Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast, moored in the Thames.
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Adults £8.00, Concessions and Groups £7.00, Children £4.00, Family £19.00 (Groups pre-booking essential on 020 7416 5439 or groups@iwm.org.uk).
For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond is at London’s Imperial War Museum until 1 March 2009
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