When jamesbondfirsteditions.co.uk went to Propstore
With impeccable timing, movie auction house, Propstore, will be holding a James Bond-themed auction next month. Last week I was given an exclusive look around...
There won’t be a single Bond fan who hasn’t noticed the significant uptick in news stories speculating about when the identity of the next cinematic James Bond will be announced.
Interestingly, that’s ‘when’, not ‘who’ anymore.
For if reports are correct, Bond himself has already been chosen. Now it’s just a case of when to tell this to the rest of the world.
Perhaps it will be announced on James Bond Day (5th October - the date that commemorates the premier of Dr No at the cinema).
And while I don’t think it’s as large a cohort as some might think, there ‘is’ definitely a crossover between James Bond film fans and James Bond book collectors.
As I’ve previously blogged, James Bond books sales long had a precedence for spiking every time there is a new film or significant news about a Bond actor is announced. [Fleming himself pressed for larger print runs when the films starting coming out]. The ongoing popularity of Ian Fleming the author has always been inextricably inked to the continued production of the films.
So I don’t feel like I’m veering too far away from bibliographic Bond when presenting this latest blog – something a bit different from the norm.
Last week I had an exclusive show around of movie specialist auction-house ‘Propstore’.
Even most James Bond book collectors will be aware that film and TV prop collecting is as popular as ever, and it occupies its own unique arm of interest connected to the book collecting world.
Propstore (operating out of Los Angeles and London), has steadily been at the centre of this since 1998 – putting some exceptional pieces of film memorabilia under the hammer.
Its most expensive ever price was the $3.6 million it realised for the lighsaber prop used by Darth Vader actor David Prowse in The Empire Strikes Back.
It also sold the C3PO head owned by Antony Daniels for more than $1 million earlier this year (see left).
So why was I here?
Well, perhaps with exceptional timing, in a little over a month’s time (7-22nd October), Propstore (London) is hosting a special James Bond-only themed auction, where – if all goes to plan – the new actor will have just been named, and anticipation, interest, and affection for the character of James Bond will be reaching fever pitch again.
And I have a personal interest in this particular auction. Nestled amongst the lots will be my recently completed set of first edition rebinds. It was when I went to drop them off, that I was given a rare tour around its various warehouses and storage areas.
Access all areas:
At the time of my visit, lots of the items due to be featured in the auction were yet to arrive, but I was reliably told there will be ‘books’ – and one book that I already know will be there is an example of ‘Daniel Craig’s Bond’ – by photographer Greg Williams (above).
It’s a celebration of Daniel’s tenure in the role, featuring exclusive photographs (many pictures reputedly unseen), from Daniel Craig’s original screen test right through to his final poster shoot on No Time To Die. This is number 194 of 1,000, signed by Craig. They were reportedly distributed to cast and crew as a final parting gift from Daniel Craig himself.
What I saw
The first thing to say, is that a visit to Propstore is really quite overwhelming.
Not actually in London itself, but near the charming Buckinghamshire village of Little Chalfont, the precise location of this exciting auction house is actually in the grounds of Chines Manor House, with the offices being what looks like converted stables.
But here's where the oldie-worldie countryside setting disappears. What opens up is thousands of square feet of warehouse space and ceiling-to-floor Amazon-like racks of shelving with items poking out from films you know and grew up with.
Move past the reception area, and the so-called ‘back area’ according to my host Alastair McCrea is where the real movie magic sits.
Barely had we moved a few feet, than there was a line of space-suits from various movies, including, ironically, one from Aliens.
The Moonraker suit
Alongside this (fans will recognise it as the yellow one, above), was one of the space-suits worn by the laser-shooting good-guys from Moonraker.
Given that just a shoulder ‘patch’ from a previous Moonraker suit was sold by Propstore for a few thousand pounds a few years ago, hopes are riding high that this full suit, replete with gloves, helmet and boots will reach stratospheric, even spacey heights.
It’s well known that movie props designed to be seen from a distance are really quite Heath Robinson in nature, and this Moonraker suit is not exception. As the pictures above show, the front panels features a crude light switch, and a very basically-made gauge, stuck on top of what looks like upturned ice cream tubs!
But, cobbled together as they are, these will no doubt make thousands.
Go past these, and the rest of the first main warehouse really opens up.
It’s quite beguiling. Everywhere you look there are iconic items seemingly littered around you, some covered, but showing enough of a glimpse to reveal what they are.
Horror film models, miniatures from Predator, a working ‘Gizmo’ animatronic from Gremlins 2; a ‘Silver Surfer’ model from the Fantastic Four film – they all suddenly, and unexpectedly come into view.
I pass a crate with another full-size Predator costume.
Turn another corner, and a C3PO comes into view, with a Stormtrooper suit not far behind. To a casual observer, they look like they’re just lying around, but there is a system (so I’m told).
What I’m seeing reminds me slightly of another indelible movie reference - the hanger that was shown at the end of Raiders of The Lost Ark, where the Arc of the Covenant is wheeled away into a disappearing mass of crates. Here at Propstore, the hanger 'sort of' disappears into the distance, and all away along it are rows of boxes, and shelving each containing prized movie items.
The 'bat bike'
Some of the items aren’t actually being auctioned, but will be sent out on various tours, but nevertheless, the material housed here is amazing. Batman’s ‘Batpod’ motorbike from The Dark Knight Rises was just sitting there, on show.
Not too far away were the legs tantalizingly peaking through of a full size Alien Queen from Aliens.
A Cyberman, and a ‘weeping statue’ from Dr Who were rubbing shoulders with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s costume from Terminator 2, and Oompa Loompa castings of Gurdeep "Deep" Roy from the recent Jonny Depp film.
Little Nellie
One particularly intriguing item will be very familiar to fans of the James Bond films – the nose cone from ‘Little Nellie’ (left) – the tiny autogyro that Sean Connery ‘piloted’ in the film You Only Live Twice.
Used to look for Blofeld’s hidden volcano base, most remember the sequence for Bond ably dealing with some enemy helicopters along the way.
Designed and flown by Wing Commander Ken Wallis in the actual movie sequences, McCrea said he was not yet sure if the item would be appearing in the Bond auction. But didn’t rule it out either!
More lots to come
At the time of writing, items already confirmed for the Propstore Bond sale include James Bond’s Skyfall stunt Shanghai costume; an ice palace sculpture from Die Another Day, an iconic hexagonal toxin vial from Moonraker, a poker plaque from 2006’s Casino Royale and much more.
Numerous original posters will also be on display – such as the famous Dr No and Thunderball quads – and I had a look at some of these that had already come in (see pictures).
Also on show were numerous signed photographs that will also be up for auction.
More than 400 lots are promised to be on display.
What will happen at this year’s sale will be exciting to watch, especially if the new actor has indeed just been announced.
In previous years, even the most ordinary Bond props have sold for eye-watering prices.
At an auction in 2023, Propstore sold this ‘red telephone’ that sat on the desk of M’s Bernard Lee in The Man With The Golden Gun, for a staggering £150,000 (its estimate was £3,000-£6,000).
As can be seen, it's simply one of the millions of standard BT rotary dial phones that many of us will remember from our youth. You can still buy one for less than £50 on eBay.
But how many were in a Bond film? Amazingly, that’s what being in a Bond film can do to a very ordinary, everyday item!
It was great fun having just a small tour of the home of Propstore, and seeing all the wonderful items is has in storage.
I will be watching the auction closely. Fingers crossed my books do OK too!
You can register for the auction here: https://propstoreauction.com/auctions/info/id/547
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