IAN FLEMING. Ian Fleming (1908–1964) was a former British intelligence officer whose novels featuring suave spy James Bond have attained unprecedented and seemingly indestructible popularity in more than 20 film adaptations over the course of four decades.
IMPORTANT TYPED LETTER SIGNED BY IAN FLEMING ONE YEAR BEFORE PUBLISHING HIS FIRST JAMES BOND NOVEL CASINO ROYALE
Important typed letter signed by Ian Fleming with his initials “I.F.” as Foreign Manager of the Kemsley newspaper group’s Sunday Times addressed to writer Michael Parker and forwarded to journalist and spy Antony Terry. A year before Fleming published his first James Bond novel Casino Royale, Fleming notifies Parker that he will need to present his British credentials when acquiring information in the American zone in Munich: “Thank you for your letter of 20th July, but I really feel that you should have your status in Munich clearly defined before we can go any further with an accreditation to this foreign service. I think in practice you will find that while British accreditation is acceptable in the American zone, possible news sources will be closed to you unless you are declared fully persona grata by the American public relations machine. Should you be successful, your commissions would, in fact, be paid to you in deutsche marks, but I am afraid there is no case for sponsoring a monthly quote of BAVSF for you, since there would be no occasion on which we would be interested in any additional coverage from the British zone.”.
SENT TO TWO JOURNALISTS WORKING UNDERCOVER FOR FLEMING AS MI6 INTELLIGENCE GATHERERS IN THE SENSITIVE FOREIGN ZONE OF GERMANY
Utilizing this legitimate news organization as a cover, Fleming also ran an intelligence outfit known as Mercury which used a network of 80 foreign correspondents to gather information in sensitive foreign zones for the British intelligence agency MI6. Terry was one such correspondent posted in Germany and Fleming had recently hired Parker to be his assistant.
“I REALLY FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR STATUS IN MUNICH CLEARLY DEFINED BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER WITH AN ACCREDITATION TO THIS FOREIGN SERVICE”
The
letter is one page, created in London on July 23, 1951, measures quarto, and in
fine condition with two file holes on the left border, small staple holes to
the top left corner, and some light creasing to the edges. In addition, the letter has been
authenticated by and is accompanied with documentation from International
Autograph Auctions Ltd., the leading autograph auction house in Europe.