James Bond exhibition at Jack Barclay Bentley in London

Jack Barclay Bentley, the world’s oldest Bentley dealership, is hosting a free James Bond exhibition from 11-16 June 2019 in partnership with Peter Harrington Rare Books.

The Mayfair dealership will play host to original Bond cars and books, including a first edition, first impression Casino Royale book signed by Ian Fleming.

Bentley 4½ Litre Blower at Jack Barclay Bentley - James Bond drove a similar model in the first Ian Fleming 007 novels.

A British racing green Bentley 4½ Litre and a Bentley Mark VI will be on display for visitors at Jack Barclay Bentley in the forthcoming exhibition.

In the early Ian Fleming novels, James Bond drives Bentley: a battleship grey Bentley 4½ Litre Blower in Casino Royale (the first James Bond novel), Live and Let Die and Moonraker. The Bentley 4½ Litre was destroyed during a chase sequence with Drax in Moonraker and at the end of the book Bond purchases a Bentley Mark VI.

Also on display will be some rare books, including a first edition, first impression of the very first James Bond book, Casino Royale, signed and inscribed by Ian Fleming and valued at £135,000

Fleming revealed in interviews that he put Bond in a Blower because he liked him to “use dashing, interesting things”. In addition Fleming’s friend, Amherst Villiers, helped to develop parts of the design of the Blower Bentley, and this may also have swayed the Bond author’s selection.

Jack Barclay is the flagship dealership for HR Owen, Britain’s leading luxury motor dealer group. Jack Barclay Bentley has a unique connection to the Bentley brand indeed, with its namesake considered as one of the original “Bentley Boys”. Jack Barclay himself drove a Bentley 4 1/2 Litre to victory in the 1929 Brooklands 500, setting an average speed of more than 107mph.

Peter Harrington Rare Books will put several rare Bond books on display at Jack Barclay Bentley, including a first edition, first impression of the first James Bond book Casino Royale, signed and inscribed by Ian Fleming and valued at £135,000.

Also on display is a corrected typescript of The Man with the Golden Gun, valued at £175,000.

A corrected typescript of The Man with the Golden Gun, valued at £175,000

Pom Harrington, owner of Peter Harrington Rare Books, said: “Bond has been at the forefront of book collecting concerns for decades now, and a large part of that fascination stems from quite how intriguing a man Fleming was in his own right.

“A lot of the character and quirk that Bond is known for in the novels relates directly to the author himself, and it’s impossible to ignore comparisons between the two, not only in the way he thought of himself, the world and the people in it, but in his pursuits and preferred luxuries. Bentley is a prime example of the latter, and we’re delighted to be collaborating with Jack Barclay Bentley for this exhibition.”

Jack Barclay Bentley is located at 18 Berkeley Square in the swanky area of Mayfair in London.