1) When/why did you start your James Bond collection?
I think my interest in all things Bond started in 1973 when my Dad took me to the movies to see "Live And Let Die".
Collecting James Bond stuff has been a bit of a must with me since the late 70s and early 80s, the problem was there was very little around to get your hands on back then.
I think very few toys came to NZ from the UK, as I can't remember seeing any as a kid in the shops here.
All I was able to buy were the odd hardback book and paperbacks, there were no toys or movie posters as the movie theatres would not sell or give anything away because of the copyright laws.
You were able to buy the odd movie sound track from second hand record shops.
So through the 70s and 80s the collecting was very slow, then in the 90s this thing called the internet came along and the collection just grew and grew.
2) What books do you collect?
I don't collect or try to collect a whole print run of the same cover art ie 1st print through 26th print. I just try to get a 1st edition copy of each cover.
I also upgrade as better copies come along, this is one of the reasons that I seem to have a lot of the same cover art.
I have most of the English prints of the Pans, Coronets, Penguins and Panther/Triad. I'm missing a few of the American Segnets and Berkley, these are a bit harder to come by here in NZ. I also have a number of books about James Bond; the coffee table types, James Bond Comics and the Book Club hardbacks.
I do have a few extra copies of the Jonathan Cape 1st editions. When one comes up for sale I buy it in the hope that when I am retired they may have some value.
But I am still missing a number of 1st edition Capes myself, "Casino Royale", "Live And Let Die" and "From Russia With Love". The problem is that these early editions cost a small fortune.
3) What is the "holy grail" of your Bond collecting?
My holy grail would be any signed copy of a Ian Fleming 1st edition book, a 1st edition of "Casino Royale" or a limited edition signed copy of "O.H.M.S.S." that's the one that had 250 numbered copies singed by Ian Fleming. I know I don't want much do I. I keep hoping that one day I will win Lotto
