Tomorrow, props purported to be from one of the original James Bond Aston Martin DB5 cars seen in Goldfinger go up for auction as part of The Pugliese Collection. Anthony Pugliese is a collector of rare film props and memorabilia and the auction features such rarites as one of the original prop Maltese Falcons. However, as reported on the MI6 website, less celebrated items are drawing the attention of James Bond fans and experts. The history of the legendary Aston Martin was told in Cinema Retro co-publisher Dave Worrall's book The Most Famous Car in the World which traced the history of the car that debuted in Goldfinger and later became a "star" in its own right. In reality, there were four vehicles identified with the film. Two were used in the movie itself and the other two were created for publicity tours after public response the gadget-laden DB5 became overwhelmingly positive around the world. After it made a follow-up appearance in Thunderball,however, the gadget car was returned to Aston Martin who foolishly stripped it of all the gizmos in 1968 and sold it as a used car to a private owner. Realizing the car's history, that owner refitted the car with custom-made gadgets designed to replicate those seen in the film. Ultimately, this car ended up in the possession of Anthony Pugliese, who had the car displayed at international auto shows - until it inexplicably went missing in 1997, resulting in an insurance payment of over $3 million.
Mr. Pugliese maintains he stripped the car of the gadgets prior to the theft and it is these parts that are being auctioned this week. (It is not explained why Pugliese would have removed the very gadgets that made the car tie in with the Bond legend.)Â However, the controversy comes in because the auction house mistakenly implies these are gadgets seen onscreen in Goldfinger. In fact, they are not. These are the replicas of the gadgets built by the private owner in the late 1960s. Additionally, there are other inconsistencies - a license purported to be an original from the car seen in Goldfinger is dated 1970. The film was in production in 1964.
The auction market for film props requires a good deal of research and skepticism. In some cases, sellers genuinely believe they are auctioning valid props even though their provenance is dubious. In Pugliese's case, most of the props he's auctioning were acquired from other auction houses with good reputations. However, in the past, many high profile items had to be withdrawn from such auctions or have their descriptions amended when it became clear that they were not originals.
For more on the Bond car controversy, visit MI6 by clicking here