Matt Sherman tells us how The Spy Who Loved Me led to him collecting all things Bond.
When and how did you first get bitten by the Bond bug?
At age 8, I remember my parents discussing whether I ought to see The Spy Who Loved Me in theatres. We went and the double entendres passed over me but I was captured by the action, gadgets and fun. At ten, I started reading and collecting Ian Fleming titles, then Flemingiana, then other Bond books, everything Bond, now mostly props and 007 casino items.
What’s your favourite item in your collection and why?
It would be hard to limit to one! It was a huge thrill to do liner notes for Vic Flick’s James Bond Now CD and to have John Barry per Vic’s request pre-approve publication. Mr Barry was more than pleased and said I did great work – what a thrill! I also love my Casino Royale screen-seen casino plaques. Golden Gun and Octopussy Egg replicas are fan favorites, along with the CR plaques, at shows and conventions.
What item would you most like to add?
As someone who collected rare books for many years and is now turned to mostly props and Bond casino items, I’ve had a lot of “Holy Grail” items in my hands, but a complete set of screen-seen Dr No plaques would be rare and precious to find. Readers are always welcomed to swap with me or buy and sell, as I tend to get doubles of many things to help fill collections as mine fill.
What’s your biggest obstacle to collecting, or is there a tip you’d like to share?
There are few obstacles these days as the economy and eBay have combined to make collecting inexpensive. Some tips:
1) Specialize! Collect only clothing from the Roger Moore era or action figures of Dalton or foreign language paperbacks, etc. as the more you specialize, the less you will face competition and the easier things will go on your wallet.
2) Help collectors! I have some terrific “there are only one or two of these, Matt, but you’ve been a help to me” items because I try to keep records of what friends are looking for and help them find it.
3) Come to one of my swap meets! I’ve been running fan events for over 20 years and everyone who attends gets free collectibles along with the best possible contacts. I’ve had hundreds of rare signed items and other collectibles pass through my hands since I often have actors, authors and film technicians attend and/or forward collectibles to my events.
Anything else?
I have room for a few more persons on my James Bond locations cruise, November-December 2016 from Miami to The Bahamas and Jamaica. I get my groups access to all kinds of Bond locations closed to the public, and we’re having fun ashore at locations and at sea with endless hours of trivia, talking shop and living the Bond lifestyle. Join us!
Where can people find you?
