Ian Fleming signature mystery (+ Errol Flynn & Cunard liners!)

Comments

• alantong Posts: 41MI6 Agent

  January 2016

  Matthew Parker (author of the excellent book Goldeneye) has kindly helped me out on this:
  
  "The last part of the book Fleming wrote in 1955 - Diamonds are Forever - is set on the Queen Elizabeth.
  Fleming did indeed make two trips to the United States in 1955 - at the end of the July to stay with the Bryce's at Vermont - and at the beginning of October to meet his US publisher and to sort out problems with NANA, his news agency. While there he travelled to Montreal with Ernie Cuneo to discuss selling a controlling interest in their agency to a Canadian syndicate. I don't have information that he traveled by boat - he usually flew - but I guess he must have done!"
• Silhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent

  January 2016

  Thanks for sharing that information - an interesting follow-up, alantong. -{

  "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
• The Domino Effect Posts: 3,638MI6 Agent

  January 2016

  That's a lovely item you have there, alantong. I'm sure you must be thrilled to own it. I'm also delighted that you were able to get some more details on that trip: it makes the item even more special in my opinion. As for the item currently on eBay, I find it fascinating that Fleming would invite Christian Dior for drinks. Fleming is often made out to have been a intolerant, homophobic hot-blooded heterosexual yet he was quite close with Noel Coward and here he is inviting Christian Dior for drinks! Granted Coward was primarily Ann's friend and as she was apparently on board the Mauretania, it is possible that Fleming invited Dior for Ann's sake or that he wished to meet him for journalistic purposes, but regardless, it does shed him in a new light.
• alantong Posts: 41MI6 Agent

  January 2016

  As an aside to the above, there are some nice photos & info here on Fleming / DAF and the Queen Elizabeth.
  http://flemingsbond.com/rms-queen-elizabeth/
  
  Also interesting is the later history of the Queen Elizabeth. After being sold, burn out and sunk in real life it pops up in the film version of The Man With The Golden Gun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Elizabeth#Final_years
• alantong Posts: 41MI6 Agent

  January 2016

  stag wrote:

  As an aside I once saw a James Bond book for sale in an antiques centre which was signed by Ian Fleming. A quick look revealed that the signature was done in felt tip pen!

  
  Thats great - right up there with the signed copy of Octopussy someone was selling on ebay a while back.
• Dutchfinger Holland With LovePosts: 1,240MI6 Agent

  January 2016

  On a side note: "october 21st 1955" Back to the Future anyone ?? haha
  
  (Great and intresting thread by the way alantong!)

  Better known as DutchBondFan on YouTube. My 007 movie reviews: Recapping 007
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