Life in General

A revolver once owned by Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books, was sold for 12,000 pounds (17,650 euros, 23,550 dollars) at an auction in London on Wednesday.

The Colt Python .357 Magnum was presented to Fleming by the Colt Company as a gift in 1964, possibly as thanks for having his character Scaramanga, the KGB-trained villain in "The Man With The Golden Gun", use a Colt gun.

The snub-nosed revolver, which is in excellent condition, is engraved with the legend: "Presented To Ian Fleming By Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co".

It had been expected to fetch between 10,000 and 15,000 pounds and was bought anonymously over the telephone during a sale at auction house Bonhams.

Fleming was a journalist and banker before working in Naval Intelligence during World War II, where he rose to the rank of Commander Fleming and was right-hand man to spymaster Admiral John Godfrey.

After the war, he went to Jamaica for a naval conference and fell in love with the island, where he wrote the Bond novels at his home, "Goldeneye".

Bond, the suave super-spy created by Fleming, carried a Walther PPK pistol which is easily concealed under a dinner jacket because it is small and light.