A handgun from the first ever James Bond film, and used by the late great Sir Sean Connery, is set to go under the hammer next month.
The semi-automatic Walther PP pistol helped define the 007 image, alongside the smaller PPK.
It's thought the artefact will collect as much as £152,237 at auction.
Sir Sean, who died last month in the Bahamas at the age of 90, used the deactivated model during his debut as the fictional spy in 1962’s Dr No.
Bond’s Walther PP
His performance set the jobbing actor and former milkman on a path to Hollywood stardom.
One of two used during production, the gun has been identified by the original film armourer, Bapty, which held it in an archive until an auction in 2006.
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, in Los Angeles, said: “We were deeply saddened to hear the news of Sir Sean Connery’s passing as we were preparing to unveil our upcoming Icons & Idols Trilogy: Hollywood auction line-up featuring the Dr No prop gun and Sean Connery on our catalogue cover.
“The silhouette of 007 holding this gun would go on to become the James Bond franchise’s most iconic image and one of the most recognisable pop culture references of all time.
“We are honoured to include his Walther PP pistol as our auction’s headlining item along with hundreds of other historical memorabilia from Hollywood’s greatest classic films and television series.”
Tom Cruise’s helmet from Top Gun
The gun features in a sale of 500 pieces of Hollywood memorabilia, which also include a helmet worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun and a black leather motorcycle jacket worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator
Big names including Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Sir Michael Caine, Daniel Craig, George Lazenby, Pierce Brosnan and Harrison Ford paid tribute to Sir Sean following his death last month.
Current James Bond star Daniel Craig hailed him as “one of the true greats of cinema”, adding he hopes that “wherever he is there’s a golf course”.
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