Address: 34-35 New Bond St, W1A 2AA
Set Up:
Situated halfway up New Bond Street is the auction house Sotheby’s, featured in the film Octopussy. The interiors for the Property of a Lady sequence were shot at Pinewood but there is an exterior shot as Bond buys a Country Life magazine from a kiosk outside Sotheby’s as he signals to a black cab to follow Kamal Khan and Magda after a bidding war for the Faberge egg.
Is the news kiosk still there outside Sotheby’s?
The kiosk is no longer there, but the building is of course recognisable. You’ll have little chance of hailing down a taxi outside the house as the street is largely pedestrianised.
With regards to the location itself, Sotheby’s serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea and the galleries are open to the public and free to visit.
An Aside: I have tried to seek the magazine that James Bond buys at the kiosk stand for my collection. From several stills and by asking various editors and eBay sellers it looks to be an issue of Country Life: Autumn Gardens Number September 2nd 1982.
They replied
After contacting the archivists at Country Life they kindly replied with the following:
I have looked through our full archives at the time but that particular cover shot does not seem to be available. It may be that a moc cover was made specifically for the show. If you have any better shots available that might help. We could then provide a digital version of the cover for our set rate of £100+VAT for personal use only. I am afraid we don’t have physical issues for sale.
Cindie Johnston
International Client and Content Coordinator
Trivia:
Did you know Sotheby’s commissioned Ian Fleming to write The Property of a Lady for their journal? According to James Bond Literary Wiki;
The ‘Property of a Lady’ was written in early 1963 after Fleming was commissioned by Sotheby’s to use as a story in their annual journal, The Ivory Hammer. It later appeared in a serialised form in the January issue of Playboy magazine, months before Fleming’s death.
Other Bond Locations Nearby: You are stones throw away from Burlington Arcade which houses many of the James Bond brands such as N.Peal, Globetrotter etc.
Closest Pint: The Burlington Arms: (21 Old Burlington St, London W1S 2JL) delivers a serviceable pint but nothing to write home about. Recommendations welcome.
Additional note:
Sotheby’s occasionally have auctions for film memorabilia and in particular, James Bond posters. It’s always worth checking out the listings if you’re in town.
