Imperial War Museum Exhibition

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, James Bond.

Featuring fascinating material, much on public display for the first time, For Your Eyes Only will look 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.

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 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 for 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 lent 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 Goldfinger, and how the Cold War, a war 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.

It will conclude 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 will be published by Bloomsbury in April 2008. Written by the bestselling author of Costa shortlisted Agent Zigzag¸ Ben Macintyre and full of lavish photography, this book is the perfect celebration of Ian Fleming and his remarkable creation, James Bond.

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 further information contact: Victoria Smith Senior Press Officer, Imperial War Museum London, 020 7416 5497, vsmith@iwm.org.uk www.iwm.org.uk

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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 of Devil May Care, the new James Bond book written by Sebastian Faulks and commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. It will be published by Penguin Books on Fleming's hundredth birthday -28th May. www.penguin007.co.uk

Further events will reflect Fleming's passions and experiences in the worlds of art, literature, journalism, sport, motoring and travel.

This London branch of the Imperial War Museum houses exhibits ranging from tanks and aircraft to photographs and personal letters; they include film and sound recordings, and some of the 20th century's best-known paintings. Visitors can explore six floors of exhibitions and displays, including a permanent exhibition dedicated to the holocaust and a changing programme of special temporary exhibitions.

The national museum of the experiences of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since 1914.

The Imperial War Museum is the museum of everyone’s story: the history of modern war and people’s experience of war and wartime life in Britain and the Commonwealth. It is an educational and historical institution responsible for archives, collections and sites of outstanding national importance.

The Museum’s five branches include Imperial War Museum London which houses the award-winning Holocaust exhibition; the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast; the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; Imperial War Museum Duxford, a world-renowned aviation and heritage complex, and Imperial War Museum North, one of the most talked-about Museums in the UK.