Although James Bond dates back to 1953, the height of Bondmania occurred on the mid 1960s after the first 007 movies starring Sean Connery were released. The first James Bond film was Dr No introduced many of the elements we take for granted these days, but in its day Dr No was groundbreaking.
The success of the first film was quickly followed up; From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice all followed in rapid succession and it was only when Sean Connery resigned from the role that there was a break of two years before George Lazenby was introduced in 1969.
And part of Connery’s frustration was that he was mobbed wherever he went, to the extent that while in Japan filming You Only Live Twice he was photographed in the toilet!
While the Bond films have always been successful, the heights of Bondmania seemed to have gone for good. However, when Casino Royale was released in 2006 a new generation of Bond fans seemed to become enthralled once again. Perhaps it wasn’t to the same degree as the 1960s, but there were several weeks when much of the entertainment news was dominated by Casino Royale.
What followed was a surge in interest by collectors for all things James Bond, including the Algerian Love Knot worn by Eva Green, as well as Daniel Craig’s polo shirt and sunglasses.
