Iconic Bond Movie Pistol Sells for $431,840 at Christie’s
When is a 60s-era air pistol worth $431,840? When it happens to be the gun held by Sean Connery in promotional stills and posters for From Russia with Love, the second film in the hugely popular James Bond 007 film series. Yes that sinister-looking pistol, which some mistook for a long-barreled, 9mm Walther P-38, is actually just a single-shot pellet gun, a Walther .177-cal Luftpistole (LP) model 53 air pistol to be precise.
The $431,840 Movie Prop
Bond’s LP-53 recently sold at auction in London for £277,250 ($431,840 US) — nearly 14 times the £15,000-£20,000 price Christie’s Auctioneers had predicted. That just proves that there are many action heroes, but there is only one James Bond. Presumably, this shockingly high auction price may drive up the price of LP-53s on the used market. Sorry, there are no Walther LP-53s for sale on Gunbroker.com today… we checked.
Why was Connery given an air pistol? Here’s the story behind the choice of the LP-53. As part of the publicity campaign for From Russia with Love, Magnum photographer David Hurn was commissioned to photograph Sean Connery as Bond — holding 007’s signature Walther PPK pistol. But the production crew forgot to bring a PPK to Hurn’s studio.
Photographer Used His Own Gun
According to Christies’ auction lot history: “[W]hen Connery arrived at his studio for the shoot, it was discovered by publicist Tom Carlile that no one had brought the gun needed for the shooter, a small Walther automatic (Walther PPK). By chance David Hurn practiced air pistol target shooting as a hobby and had the air pistol he used for this purpose, also a Walther, to hand. Hurn explained: ‘It was decided that, without telling Sean or the other representatives of United Artists, we would use my pistol for the pictures and [we] presumed that should anyone have doubts, [when they saw] the name Walther on the gun, they would be reassured. This was, in fact, the case.'”
Poster Designer Favors Look of Long-Barreled Pistol Over PPK
In theory, the long barrel of the LP-53 air pistol was to be airbrushed out of publicity stills and a PPK was to be substituted when the movie posters were designed. In fact, in one USA-market “James Bond is Back” poster, you’ll see Connery holding an airbrushed, short-barrel Walther. However, Renato Fratini, the lead poster artist, preferred the look of the LP-53. Working from Hurn’s non-airbrushed original photographs, Fratini designed the posters for world-wide distribution with the long-barreled LP-53 in Bond’s hand. The iconic long-barreled Luftpistole was featured in posters for several more Bond movies, including Goldfinger (Japanese poster at right), and The Man With the Golden Gun.
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Tags: 007, James Bond, LP-53, Luftpistole, PPK, Sean Connery, Walther
The Walther LP53 is not often to see here in Europe,too I own one in very good condition with original box and wooden knop.i hope prices will rise:-)
I have one…no box but in excellent condition…Colorado, USA
I owned an LP 53 about 1961 when I was 16 which I was very proud of because it looked like the real thing. Wish I still had it!
I mentioned that I owned an LP 53 in 1961 like the one held by Sean Connery on the “From Russia With Love” poster. When I bought it, I had no idea that I would be at the opening of From Russia With Love in London in 1963 at the Odeon, Leicester Square. After the film, the crowd pushed most of me into the Rolls with Sean Connery and Diane Cilento seated inside. They could not get the door closed because my feet were still outside the car. All I could say to Sean was, “Im sorry, I can’t help it!” I remember seeing Ian Fleming there.
I cherish this memory and wish to share it. Sean may remember this.
As I wrote previously, I owned an LP 53 when I was 16. Since nobody else has posted a comment, I thought that I might add to my last comment since these are great memories for me. By coincidence, in 1964, a few months after I was pushed into Connery’s limo after From Russia With Love I started lifting weights at Edward Bolton’s gym in London during school vacation, on the advice of Neil McColville, my sports teacher at Aiglon College in Switzerland. It was a ritzy gym for the time, not far from where I lived. Richard Harris, Olivier, Albert Finney and Anthony Quayle trained upstairs on the first floor but Sean trained with us on the ground floor. In the back room with the shower were white chipboard cubicles for clothes. One had a name tag with Sean Connery under it. In it was a sleeveless athletic undervest. I tried it on and was amazed that it was only a medium! Mr. Bolton’s assistant gave me two 25lb dumbells which he said belonged to Sean, saying that Sean didn’t need them since he lived in Spain, training there when he was in London. My mother kept them for me but gave them away after many years. I wish I still had them!
I have the exact piston in the box with the cleaning rod and extra sight blades… It does have the wooden cocking knob and has some wear on the barrel from cocking and use. What do you think its worth?
On January 7, 2012 I described how the public pushed most of me into the limo almost on top of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento, after the opening of “From Russia With Love” at the Odeon, Leicester Square in London in October 1963. I was shown a TV documentary last March 2015 of “You Only Live Twice” made in Japan in 1967, with Diane Cilento recounting how frightening it had been outside the cinema after From Russia With Love. In fact I remember that the only reason the limo could not drive off was because my feet were still on the pavement outside the car, there was no one in front of the car and not that many people anyway. The whole affair took about five minutes, not twenty! Sean and Diane just stared at me in amazement in the car but they did not look at all frightened! It blew my mind to see this nearly 52 years later! Here is the link!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3mwSrPFUPt0MzB0a045SXREQTczRVhBYTViVzloOHQ4WHZZ/view
The LP53 is a beautiful pistol. I have a couple of them, but no cleaning rods. Does anyone know where I could acquire one or two?
Thanks
Frank