James Bond: The Living Daylights

An original manual used in the production of the 1987 James Bond picture The Living Daylights starring Timothy Dalton as the suave spy.

As is not unusual for a James Bond picture one of the most memorable elements of The Living Daylights is Bond's Aston Martin with the marque returning following the use of other vehicles throughout the Roger Moore era. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage provides the movie with some of its most memorable moments and was fitted with various gadgets as has become a trademark of the franchise, these included missiles, lasers, outriggers, tyre spikes and a rocket booster having been winterised at the hands of Q branch. As is common after the production the car was used for publicity purposes with this manual accompanying the modified special effects car to provide information on the assembly of the vehicles various components.

The manual is contained within a ring binder of blue plastic with a production applied label to the front which features the movie logo, 007 logo and the title 'ASTON MARTIN - ASSEMBLY MANUAL'. Inside the folder are 14 pages of instructions which are type written on card stock and feature a total of 33 original black and white photographs to illustrate the assembly of the vehicles various features, there are numerous instances of stickers having been applied to the photographs to point out details to the user. In the front of the folder is a contents page which is typed on production headed stationary and contained within a plastic wallet. The rare photographs within the manual are believed to be unpublished and offer a fascinating insight in to the features of the trick car which was expertly modified by the special effects crew.

The interior pages of the manual measure approximatly 11.5" x 8.25" with the binder measuring 12.5" x 9.5", the manual remains in generally excellent condition with only light edge wear and minor markings, overall very fine.

A fine example of an original car related production artefact from one of the most celebrated franchises in cinematic history.