Another "OHMSS" Lithograph Arrives

Today in the mail I received my second Jeff Marshall lithograph based on "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".  

Like the first this one this is also signed by Mr Lazenby and I think it looks fantastic.

IMO Jeff is a great artist and these lithographs are proud inclusions in my Bond collection.  I suggest checking out all of his Bond lithographs on the web (eg. SpyGuise on ebay).  Most are still very affordable considering they're limited edition prints and the best thing is you're almost guaranteed to find one for your favourite Bond film.

Mountains Of Books Bookfair - This Weekend

This Saturday, November 1 my wife and I will be attending the "Mountains of Books Bookfair" in Ferny Creek in Melbourne.  Meryll Williams, owner of Rainy Day Books in The Basin has helped organise this event that will feature many different book stalls.

 

I first found out about this event after visiting Rainy Day Books in The Basin, situated near the base of Mt Dandenong, a few weeks ago.

While checking the shelves I found several Bond books but unfortunately I had them all.  Great to see so many on the shelves though.

This is the second time I have visited Rainy Day Books.  It's a great store with a wide variety of books, and the well organised shelves easily give away the fact that Meryll was once a libarian.  Her passion for books is clearly evident, to the point of even organising book signings in her store.

Meryll and I spoke for a while discussing books, remedies to deal with silverfish, and collecting Bond books.  She also explained about the "Mountains of Books Bookfair" and her hopes for its success.  So I told her I'd definitely be at the Ferny Creek Recreational Hall on Hilton Road this Melbourne Cup Weekend to check out the books.  Hopefully I'll see you there.

Echuca Book Store

Situated on the Murray River which separates Victoria from New South Wales, Echuca is predominantly a tourist town renowned for its many historic paddle steamers and water sports.

It also has a couple of book stores including the Read Heeler Book Shop.  My parents often visit Echuca and whenever they do there's always the obligatory phone call from this store to list the store's Bond inventory over the phone.  Occasionally they mention a book I'm missing and purchase it for me.

- Read Heeler Book Shop (second hand) - This store is easily recognised in the old High Street section of Echuca by the Harley Davidson motor bike parked out the front.  This pristine condition bike is the owner's proud possession. David Engstrom has operated this book store for 15 years and during that time has seen thousands of people browsing or buying books in his store.  As well as a regular selection of Bond books in stock David's main focus is on Australian books and books on hunting, fishing and shooting.  He also has a large selection of children's books.  The shop is well worth a visit when you're next in Echuca. (Thanks Dad for the write-up and my wife for pointing to the card below).

The Astor Theatre 007 Festival

For those Melbourne Bond fans who haven't already noticed yet on The Astor film calendar, Saturday, October 18 marks the beginning of the "007 Festival".  The first double-bill is "Dr No" and "From Russia With Love".

The following Saturday features "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball".  Saturday, November 1 is the highlight of the festival featuring a single screening of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".  

The following Saturday features a double-bill of "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "For Your Eyes Only" which in my opinion are the two best Moore Bond films.  The last two Bond films in this festival on Saturday, November 15 are "Octopussy" and "A View To A Kill".

But that's not all.  Hidden among the many other great film screenings on the calendar (being touted by The Astor as the second last calendar ever but we hope not) is the 007 documentary "Everything Or Nothing". This doco is being screened at 4:30 on Sunday, October 12 and should be compulsory viewing for all Bond fans.

Great stuff Astor.  Where else in Melbourne can we see these fine films on the big screen.  Thankyou.  And hopefully people power wins through and The Astor doesn't close down next year because it's a fantastic venue and a large part of Melbourne culture.

Quick Bond Hunt In The City

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I spent a night in the City to escape our continuing house renovations which have dragged on for almost 9 months now.  While there we managed to do some quick book hunting.

- Kay Craddock Antiquarian Bookseller (second hand) - I've been trying to get to this store for a while now so it was great to finally walk through the door.  They had four US hardbacks for sale which were on display.

- Foreign Language Bookshop (new) - Unfortunately the City store has now closed and they have moved to Fitzroy.  I previously purchased ESL copies of some Bond novels from this store so it was sad to see the City store closed.  I wish them luck in their new location and hope to visit soon.

- Robinsons Bookshop (new) - I remember visiting this independent store when they were situated in Frankston next to the old library.  In fact I have several Bond books with the Robinsons price sticker still on the back.  They then moved to the Station Street Mall where they have remained ever since.  Just a few years ago they opened a store at Chadstone, and now they've opened a store at the new Emporium Melbourne in the City.  Great to see them going strong.  (Update: They also have a store in Greensborough, and Highpoint opens in November 2014.  Wow !)  Here's their website.

- Federation Square Saturday Book Market (second hand) - Several stalls had Bonds for sale and I managed to grab this snap.  None for me though.

Berkley Books 80's Order Form

Yesterday in the mail I received a parcel containing an unusual addition to my Bond collection... a Berkley Books order form from the 80's.

Here in Australia in the 1980's the only way to purchase Berkley Bond novels was to go to a new book store, request a US book order and then wait about 8 weeks for it to arrive.  The price was usually a ridiculous amount too.  

We never saw order forms like this.  Now over 30 years later I own one.  I'm not sure the books are still available from Berkley Books though !