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2008 not too late for 007 |
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Royal Mail has been Licensed to make a killing. On January 8, 2008, the British Post Office, still known as the Royal Mail, issued a series of Ian Fleming’s James Bond book cover stamps to celebrate the centenary of authour Ian Fleming's birth, and the 50th anniversary of the publication of Dr No, the first James Bond novel in a series of successful film versions. The colourful James Bond stamps depict four book covers, in six different designs, evoking the golden era of Bond, James, Bond. The Jonathan Cape first edition of Casino Royale leads off, and the other books included in the James Bond souvenir sheet are Dr. No, Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, For your Eyes Only, and From Russia with Love. |
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| The book covers are bordered by a replica page from one of Ian Fleming’s notebooks in the collectible souvenir sheet. There have been 21 James Bond motion pictures, featuring Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, as the suave MI6 secret agent.
To follow up the success of last year’s Beatles and Harry Potter stamps, The British Post Office wants a piece of the $4 billion global gross of the James Bond film franchise. Apparently Ian Fleming named James Bond after an American bird watcher, whose family he stayed with after his marriage in Jamaica. Ian Fleming had his own codenumber 17F, while serving in the Second World War, and may himself have been responsible for the plan that lured Rudolf Hess to Scotland. Fleming’s own experiences in an elite military unit, known as 30AU, which included trained lock picks, safe crackers, and specialists in unarmed combat, and intelligence collection, may have inspired his books and their film versions. Conspiracy theorists will love the fact that it was John F. Kennedy who helped popularize James Bond in America, when he included 1957’s From Russia with Love on his preferred reading list. Ian Fleming penned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well. Ian Fleming died, aged only 56, in 1964, so he only saw Dr. No, in 1962, and From Russia With Love, which appeared a month before J.F.K. was assassinated. Ian Fleming collected books that he thought had made a difference to life in the Western World, including Mein Kampf, On the Origin of Species, and Scouting for Boys. There is no question that Ian Fleming’s own works became part of global popular culture. The U.K. James Bond Stamps are available from Brian Grant Duff at All Nations Stamp and Coin for $14.95, per souvenir sheet, plus applicable taxes and shipping, while supplies last, and are a fitting tribute to a successful authour and his creation. Buy one here. |
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Newsletter #131 |
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