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Miscellaneous / Verschiedenes » alt.fan.james-bond » The Rose and The Lilly
| The Rose and The Lilly [message #271301] |
So, 21 Mai 2006 16:57 |
|
Dug this up while looking for material for the FAQ......
--------------------------------------------------------
By Brad Frank
(c) 2003 Brad Frank, All Rights Reserved
A small town in the heart of America's midland is the unlikely home of
the world's single greatest repository of Ian Fleming materials. For
the Lilly Library at Indiana University is where you will find the
original manuscripts of the James Bond novels, along with numerous
letters, articles, and other related materials, as well as the famous
Fleming Collection of rare books and papers.
Back in 1983, long before he succeeded John Gardner as the official
author of the James Bond novels, Raymond Benson wrote about the Lilly
Library in Bondage Magazine Number 12. His article ("A Visit To The
Lilly Library") focused on the differences between Fleming's original
manuscripts and the final published books. Most of the material was
later incorporated into his book The James Bond Bedside Companion
(1984), which can currently be ordered online at:
www.raymondbenson.com. Since that magazine is now a rare collectible, I
decided to visit the Lilly Library myself to see what I could see. I
spent a week there during the summer of 2000. My visit coincided with
the Centennial convention of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
at which a friend of mine was giving a presentation. While he was
"schmoozing" with Oz book publishers and original MGM Munchkins, I was
squirreled away in the library's reading room. But before I get into
that, some background.
In 1929, at the age of 21, Ian Fleming wandered into Dulau's Bookshop,
located prophetically on London's Bond Street. Fleming struck up a
conversation with the manager, a book collecting expert named Percy
Muir. This was the start of a lifelong friendship, and when Fleming
decided a few years later to create a very specialized book collection,
Muir become his primary advisor. "[Fleming] hit upon the idea, then an
almost complete novelty, of collecting the milestones of progress in the
nineteenth century ...anything that had affected human outlook and
habits, from the atomic theory to the zipp fastener, and from lawn
tennis to the Mendelian hypothesis." (from Minding My Own Business - An
Autobiography, by Percy Muir, 1956.)
Fleming had discovered an untapped market. Among the groundbreaking
works he amassed were early writings by Darwin on evolution, Einstein on
relativity, and Freud on psychology. The focus, however, was not limited
to scientific or technical subjects, for instance it includes the first
Boy Scout's Handbook. By the time of his death in 1964, the collection
contained some 1200 items, and was highly recognized for its
significance. Here's a sampling of some of the rather intriguing and
diverse titles in the collection:
The History of the Athenian Society: for the resolving of all nice and
curious questions, by Charles Gildon, 1692.
A Boat of a Peculiar Construction, named a Life-Boat, by Henry
Greathead, 1802. (After witnessing a naval disaster, Greathead was
inspired to invent the first practical life boat.)
A Practical Essay on the Scientific Repair and Preservation of Public
Roads, by John Loudon McAdam, 1819.
Over-Population and its Remedy, by William Thomas Thornton, 1846.
The Golfer's Manual, Being an Historical and Descriptive Account of the
National Game of Scotland, by a Keen Hand (Allan Robertson), 1857.
"Account of the construction of the new national standard of length and
of its principal copies", by Sir George Biddell Airy, 1858.
"On the relative motion of the earth and the luminiferous ether", by
Albert Abraham Michelson, 1887.
Finger Prints, by Sir Francis Galton, 1892. (Galton was the first to
apply fingerprinting to criminal investigations.)
The Apocrypha. Translated out of the Greek and Latin tongues, being the
version set forth A.D. 1611 compared with the most ancient authorities
and revised A.D. 1894. Printed for the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge, 1895.
Notice sur le Cinematographe, Auguste and Louis Lumiere, 1897. (Edison
may have invented the motion picture, but the Lumiere brothers were the
first to successfully exploit its commercial possibilities.)
Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship, by
Sir Robert Baden-Powell, 1908.
The Radio Times - The Official Organ of the B.B.C., Vol 1, no.1,
September 28, 1923.
Contract Bridge Blue Book, by Ely Culbertson, 1930. (James Bond uses a
bridge hand devised by Culbertson to trick Drax in Moonraker.)
+ + + + +
In 1955, Fleming became the publisher of The Book Collector, a journal
which is still published today. This led to many literary contacts, and
Fleming's collection began to gain some notoriety. Fleming became
acquainted with David Randall, the manager af the rare book department
at Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, who would later become the
curator of rare manuscripts for Indiana University's Library system.
Fleming and Randall corresponded often over the next few years, and as
early as 1956, Randall expressed an interest in acquiring Fleming's
collection for the library. In a letter dated 6 November, 1958, Fleming
agrees that the collection "would undoubtedly be a giant prize for some
young university" but states that he is in no hurry to sell it at that
time.
When The Lilly Library was built in 1960 as the permanent home for
Indiana University's rare books and manuscripts collection, Randall
asked Fleming once again about his collection. Fleming tantalizingly
suggested that he might be willing to sell if the price was right, but
an offer was not forthcoming at that time. In 1963, Randall asked
specifically about the James Bond manuscripts, but again, Fleming
politely put him off. Fleming died on August 12, 1964.
By early 1965, John Pearson had begun researching his biography of
Fleming (The Life of Ian Fleming, 1966), and in a letter dated 11 April,
he asks David Randall whether he thought that Fleming actually wanted to
sell his collection. (Mr. Randall's response was unavailable at the
time of my reseach for this article.) It wasn't until 1968, four years
after Fleming's death, that his widow Anne Fleming asked Percy Muir to
find a home for the collection. After fielding offers from a number of
prestigious libraries, they settled on the Lilly. The Bond films had
become extremely successful by that time, but because of the
peculiarities of the licencing agreement between Fleming and the
filmmakers, the Fleming family saw relatively little profit from them,
other than the increased sales of the Bond novels. Anne had never
particularly cared for Bond, and seeing others grow rich from her late
husband's creation must have created even more disdain in her. So when
The Fleming Collection was packed up and shipped to Indiana, it included
the Bond manuscripts as well as Fleming's personal copies of the first
editions, which he had rebound in matching leather bindings. It has
been suggested that Anne carelessly threw in the Bond manuscripts, but
according to Joel Silver, the Lilly's current Curator, they were always
intended to be part of the deal. Biographer Andrew Lycett (Ian Fleming
- The Man Behind James Bond, 1995), however, claims that she later
regretted selling the manuscripts and collection, but it was too late to
back out.
+ + + + +
Indiana University was founded in 1820 as The Indiana Seminary, and has
been in its present location in Bloomington, about 50 miles southwest of
Indianapolis, since 1884. The campus is absolutely beautiful, featuring
numerous landscaped park areas, and a variety of architecture, both
classical and contemporary.
Over the years, the university had amassed an impressive collection of
rare books and manuscripts, which were spread throughout the library's
various buildings on campus. In the late 1950's, after J. K. Lilly, Jr.
donated his massive personal collection of books and manuscripts to the
university, it was decided to create a single permanent repository for
these. A further grant from the Lilly family made this possible, and
the Lilly Library was built in 1960. Among the significant historical
works preserved there are an original Gutenberg Bible, and a letter from
George Washington to Congress accepting the Presidency of the United
States.
A stately building of white limestone, one's first impression of The
Lilly is that it looks more like a bank than a Library. Four massive
pilaster columns frame the main entrance. The reception hall opens onto
a large display room where various exhibits are featured throughout the
year. To your right is the Rare Book Reading Room. No special
permission is required to enter, but before you pass through to this
inner sanctum, you must sign in at the reception desk, where you will be
required to check all bags. You may bring notepaper and pencils in with
you, but no ink pens, due to the potential harm they could cause to the
rare items. Cameras are forbidden, but laptop computers are allowed.
Once you've been buzzed through the security door, you will be escorted
to a private reading table. Portraits of famous authors look down on
you from high up on the walls. Two walls of the room are dominated by
card catalogs, and there are several computer terminals directly linked
to the library's online catalog. You begin by searching the catalogs
and noting the call numbers for the books or manuscripts that you wish
to read. Then at your request, any of the helpful staff will retrieve
the items from the stacks. You are normally allowed only one item at a
time, which is placed on a special reading stand to protect it from damage.
+ + + + +
The items of greatest interest to James Bond fans are, of course, the
original manuscripts of the Bond novels. As already noted, these are
thoroughly documented in The James Bond Bedside Companion by Raymond
Benson, so I won't bother discussing them here.
Without a doubt the rarest Fleming item at the library is State Of
Excitement, his banned book about Kuwait, of which only a few copies are
known to exist. This book has an interesting story behind it. In 1960,
Kuwait was on the verge of becoming an independent state -- it had been
a British protectorate since 1899. The Kuwait Oil Company felt that a
bit of PR was needed. Fleming's Thrilling Cities had just been
published, so they invited him to visit and write a book about his
observations. Fleming accepted, and for two weeks the Kuwait Oil
Company escorted him on a whirlwind tour. Being a seasoned journalist,
Fleming wrote candidly about what he saw. The result was not what the
Kuwaitis had expected. Under the terms of their agreement, the rights
to the book were owned by The Kuwait Oil Company, so Fleming was
politely paid off, and the book was never published. Although several
copies of this fascinating document exist in private hands, The Lilly
Library is the only place in the world where it can be read by the
general public.
The Library also contains photocopies of about 140 of Fleming's letters,
as well as the bulk of John Pearson's research for his biography of
Fleming. Among the correspondents are: Mary W. Bond (wife of the
real-life James Bond, who lent his name to Fleming's creation), Raymond
Chandler, Claudette Colbert, Cyril Connolly, Allen Dulles, Robert
Kennedy, Somerset Maugham, Percy Muir, William Plomer, Georges Simenon,
Edith Sitwell, and Evelyn Waugh.
The library has relatively little material on the Bond films, although
they do have a few of the early film scripts, and some promotional
stills and posters. Perhaps the rarest among these is Richard Maibaum's
1961 script for Thunderball, originally planned as the first EON Bond
film, but delayed due to the court case between Fleming and McClory.
This first shot at Bond by Maibaum, who would have a hand in 13
subsequent Bond scripts, is fascinating not only for how closely it
follows the novel, but also for the elements he introduced which would
become staples of the series. (For more about the early Thunderball
scripts, and the McClory / Fleming case, see GOLDENEYE magazine Vol. 1,
Issue 3, Spring 1994).
+ + + + +
For myself, perhaps the most interesting discovery at the library was
the inscriptions which Fleming had written in several of his books.
Though he often commented about the Bond novels in general, these
inscriptions are the most detailed I have ever seen by him about
specific books. Unfortunately, they only appear in the first five Bond
novels, plus his non-fiction book The Diamond Smugglers. I have quoted
the inscriptions verbatim.
Casino Royale [Lilly catalog number: PR 6056 / .L4 C33 / 1954b]
"Author's Copy.
This was written in January & February 1952, accepted by Capes in the
spring, and published a year later. It was written, to take my mind off
other matters at Goldeneye, Jamaica.
The characters are not based on people but some of the incidents are
factual. The bomb trick was used by the Russians in an attempt on Von
Papen during the war in Ankara.
Ian Fleming."
A footnote has been added by Anne Fleming, and subsequently crossed out,
but with some patience I was able to decipher it: "Other Matters --
Marriage, a chilly description; but revealing of the author's capacity
for affection, love and human relations.
A. F.
June 12th
1965"
Live And Let Die [Lilly catalog number: PR 6056 / .L4 L78 / 1954a]
"Author's Copy.
Michael Arlen told me to write my second book before I had seen the
reviews of the first & this was written in January & February 1953 at
Goldeneye, Jamaica.
All the settings are based on personal experience & I spent a whole
night in Harlem with a detective from the 10th precinct verifying my
geography etc.
The underwater chapters are based on Cabritta Island, Port Maria,
Jamaica, where Bloody Morgan careened his ships & which is still
supposed to contain his treasure.
The facts about fish are based on my own experiences & on the findings
of the U. S. Navy Dept.
St. Petersburg is just like I say it is.
Ian Fleming."
[Note: Michael Arlen was a popular British author of the 1920s; his most
famous novel was The Green Hat.]
Moonraker [Lilly catalog number: PR 6056 / .L4 M81 / 1955 copy 2]
"Author's Copy.
This was written in January & February 1954 & published a year later.
It is based on a film script I have had in my mind for many years, plus
living at St. Margaret's Bay & constant motoring up & down the Dover Road.
Blades contains elements of Whites, Boodles, & the Portland Club.
Vallance is Sir Ronald Howe, deputy commissioner at Scotland Yard. My
favorite restaurant is Scott's.
Ian Fleming."
Diamonds Are Forever [Lilly catalog number: PR 6056 / .L4 D54 /
1956 copy 2]
"This was written in January & February 1955 at Goldeneye. It is
dedicated to Ivar Bryce, Ernest Cuneo (Cureo the cab-driver) & Billy
Woodward who was shot by his wife on Long Island - a famous case - while
the proofs were being corrected. He vetted the racing sequences. He
owned Nashua, a famous 2 year old. Felix Leiter is based on no one.
Bond enjoys Tiffany on the floor of the cabin because one cannot make
love on a Dumlo pillow matress. I lost $500 at Las Vegas.
Ian Fleming."
Anne Fleming has added the following:
"Dedicated to 'Ivar Bryce' who afterwards betrayed Ian in the lawsuit
concerning 'Thunderball' -- the case undoubtedly caused Ian's coronary.
A. F."
From Russia With Love [Lilly catalog number: PR 6056 / .L4 F93 /
1957a]
"This was written in Jan & Feb 1956 at Goldeneye. The Russian
background comes mostly from a Soviet refugee spy called Tokaev - alias
Tokati - an excellent man. I was in Instanbul for the Sunday Times.
Darko is purely fictional but a favorite character. The gypsies will
stage a fight between girls for a small sum. The Orient Express is a
dull, dirty train. I took great trouble over this book -- & the jacket,
painted by Richard Chopping.
Ian Fleming."
The Diamond Smugglers [Lilly catalog number: PR 6056 / .L4 D53 /
1957 copy 3]
"This was written in 2 weeks in Tangiers, April 1957. The name of the
IDSO spy is John Collard. Sir Percy Sillitoe sold the story to the
Sunday Times & I had to write it from Collards M.S. It was a good story
until all the possible libel was cut out. There was nearly an
injunction against me & the Sunday Times by De Beers to prevent
publication of the S. T. serial. Rightly, they didn't like their
secrets being sold by an employee. Lord Kemsley & Collard shared the
profits of this - a third each, which was a pity as I sold the film
rights to Rank for £12,500. It is adequate journalism but a poor book &
necessarily rather 'contrived' though the facts are true.
Ian Fleming."
It's a real shame that Fleming didn't inscribe the rest of his books. I
can only guess at the reason that he didn't. I believe that these
inscriptions were all written at the same time, rather than as each book
was published. As already noted, the books have been uniformly rebound
in full leather, each in different color. The spines are stamped in
gold with Fleming's name, and a number in lieu of the title. I doubt
that Fleming had these done right from the start, but rather decided to
do it after his sixth book (The Diamond Smugglers) had been published,
and thus added all of the inscriptions at that time. As later books
were published, he had them bound to match the rest, but never bothered
to inscribe them.
+ + + + +
I strongly recommend a visit to the Lilly Library for any Fleming fan
who may find himself in southern Indiana. If you are a particularly
devoted fan, as I am, it is well worth making a special trip. The Lilly
Library will have an exhibition of Fleming materials running from May
through August, to tie in with the upcoming Fleming conference. For
more information, contact:
The Lilly Library
1200 E. 7th St.
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
812-855-3129
http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly
liblilly [at] indiana.edu
You can search an online catalog of the Fleming Collection at
http://iucat.iu.edu/ by choosing Lilly at the "Select Library" option,
then entering Ian Fleming as author.
For a more detailed account of the collection, see Lilly Library
Publication Number XII: The Ian Fleming Collection of 19th-20th Century
Source Material Concerning Western Civilization Together With the
Originals of the James Bond-007 Tales. c1970.
Also of interest is Percy Muir's article in the Spring, 1965 issue of
The Book Collector.
+ + + + +
I wish to thank the staff and librarians of the Lilly Library, and in
particular Rebecca Cape, Joel Silver, and Francis Lapka. Thanks also to
Raymond Benson, James Doyle, and Ron Randall.
(c) 2003 Brad Frank
All Rights Reserved
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