World’s biggest collection of James Bond memorabilia including Live & Let Die speedboat set to fetch £250,000 at auction
LIVE And Let Buy . . . The world’s largest private collection of James Bond memorabilia is being sold and could raise £250,000.
Nick Bennett won the Guinness Book Of Records title in 2014 after amassing more than 12,000 items.
But the businessman says he does not watch the films now, or go to fan events, and has decided to sell up.
Merseyside-based Omega Auctions has called the sale “unprecedented”.
Nick, 57, started collecting during the Pierce Brosnan Goldeneye era and has toys, posters, shop displays, props, books and arcade games.
He even has a Bond speedboat used to promote Live And Let Die in 1973.
His collection is so vast he keeps it in a warehouse on an industrial estate.
Original poster
Nick, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, has been a fan since his parents took him to see Live And Let Die at the cinema when he was seven.
He said: “I had a friend who collected Batman and I was so impressed with his one-subject collection that I thought I’d like to do that too.
“I already collected toys and I had a few James Bond ones so decided to go for that.
“I later had a toy business, so I would buy full collections, take out what I wanted and sell the rest.
“But now I’ve sold my business and it’s time to move on.”
The collection is so big it may take several auctions to shift everything.
The first sale begins on September 26, with more than 300 lots.
Among the top ones is a full set of first edition Pan paperbacks, with an estimate of £3,000, a Dr No original US poster (£1,500), and a UK first edition of Casino Royale from 1953 which could go for around £3,000.