LINK: From a View to a Museum

Did you know there is a museum in Japan devoted to Raymond Benson's sixth original James Bond novel, The Man With The Red Tattoo? Well, there is, and Raymond Benson himself has written a piece about the museum and his original research trip to Japan his on his blog, Blog Benson. Click the headline to have a read.

The man himself in the 007 The Man With The Red Tattoo Museum

Golden typewriter at the International Spy Museum

The International Spy Museum just tweeted the following. Wow.

SNEAK PEEK: Shhh..here's a first look at the newest artifact for our #007 exhibit. Ode to Fleming. #goldentypewriter. pic.twitter.com/vB8jAEBMqT
— The Spy Museum (@IntlSpyMuseum) August 12, 2013

UPDATE: Thanks to Jason Whiton of Spy Vibe, we have some info on this. This is not the golden typewriter that Ian Fleming used to write his James Bond novels. That sold several years back at auction to an unknown buyer. Here's what we are seeing here:

COMING SOON TO SPY! A sneak peek of our newest artifact soon to be installed in our Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains exhibit.

This golden typewriter belonged to Sir Peter Smithers, who during WWII, worked closely with Ian Fleming in British Naval Intelligence on a number of covert operations. Fleming so admired his friends’ golden typewriter that he purchased one for himself, and used it to write several novels.

Thank you Jason. 

The SILVER BEAST has been saved!

According to our friends at From Sweden With Love, the promotional Saab 900 Turbo from the John Gardner era, "The Silver Beast", will remain in Trollhättan, Sweden as part of the intact Saab Museum collection. As we reported last week, the entire collection had been put up for auction as part of Saab's recent bankruptcy. But according to a post on the From Sweden With Love Facebook page...

"We have just received the good news that all cars in the SAAB museum (incl. "Silver Beast", the SAAB 900 Turbo as driven by James Bond in John Gardners first three novels) will remain in Trollhättan, Sweden. 500 offers from all over the world came in but thanks to the local community, Saab AB (the defense and security company) and the Wallenberg family (who used to own the car factory), the museum will be intact. The entities mentioned paid 28 Million SEK for the entire lot and rescued a piece of Swedish industrial history from being departed all over the world."

Great news for Bond fans, Saab fans, and the city of Trollhättan!

Click here to read the story of: Bond's Beast - When OO7 Drove Saab.

RED TATTOO museum launches two websites

The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum in Naoshima Japan has launched two new websites featuring art and images from this unique museum devoted to Raymond Benson’s last original James Bond novel.

The first is the museum’s official website, which is currently only in Japanese. In conjunction with the official site is the 007 Location Promotion Committee, featuring general information about the museum and ongoing efforts to petition Eon into making a James Bond movie in Naoshima. A link in English takes you to a plot synopsis, drawings exhibited in the museum, and other goodies.

Designed by Hidemi Inoue of Inoue Commercial Space Planning, The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum is located at 2310 Miyanoura, Naoshima (one minute from Myanoura Bay). For more information, contact the International Affairs Division, Kagawa Prefectural Government, Tel: 087-832-3026, Fax 087-837-4289.

Raymond Benson recently provided CBn with a exclusive report on the museum’s opening day ceremonies with his own personal pictures from the event. CLICK HERE to read Raymond’s report.

THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO museum to open in Japan

Raymond Benson

The government of Kagawa Prefecture in Japan will honour author Raymond Benson with a museum dedicated to his sixth original James Bond novel, The Man With the Red Tattoo.

Between 1996 and 2002, Benson, a resident of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, was the third writer officially commissioned by the Estate of Ian Fleming to pen 007 continuation novels. During his tenure, Benson wrote and published six original James Bond novels, three film tie-in “novelizations,” and three short stories. His sixth and final original 007 novel, The Man With the Red Tattoo (published in 2002 in the U.S. by Putnam and in the U.K. by Hodder & Stoughton), was set in Japan. A major part of the story takes place on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture.

Since the novel’s publication, Kagawa Prefecture, Naoshima Town, and a number of other organizations have been working together to promote the cinematic adaptation and filming of the novel in a move to revitalize Naoshima and the wider Seto Inland Sea region. Their efforts have been receiving a great deal of attention in the Japanese media, leading to the construction of a facility which could be used to introduce the locations on the island.

The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum aims to present Naoshima as a Bond location on a national scale, introduce visitors to the story of The Man With the Red Tattoo and other James Bond 007 novels, feature information on Benson and the other successive authors who have contributed to the legacy of 007, and exhibit material and memorabilia related to the novels and films.

Designed by Hidemi Inoue of Inoue Commercial Space Planning, The 007 The Man With the Red Tattoo Museum will open on July 24, 2005. It is located at 2310 Miyanoura, Naoshima (one minute from Myanoura Bay). For more information, contact the International Affairs Division, Kagawa Prefectural Government, Tel: 087-832-3026, Fax 087-837-4289.

To keep up with Raymond Benson’s latest work, appearances, and to purchase his books, visit www.raymondbenson.com.