A James Bond-obsessed collector has spent $55,000 on buying 007 memorabilia, and even broken up with a girlfriend who didn’t like one of his movie posters.
Stephen Sherrard-Griffith, 44, has spent 21 years building his vast 4,000 item treasure trove from the Bond films and novels and says he’s determined to keep growing his collection.
The filmmaker has a staggering three rooms of his home in Melbourne, Victoria, given over to his vast collection and said that his passion for collecting all things Bond has become so great that he’s now made it his full-time job.
Stephen Sherrard-Griffith, 44, has spent 21 years building his vast 4,000 item collection (pictured)
Mr Sherrard-Griffith (pictured) dedicates three rooms in his Melbourne home to James Bond memorabilia
Mr Sheppard Griffith’s collection (pictured) started when he was a young teenager
The collection boasts rare figurines of Bond as well as film posters and books worth thousands of dollars.
Stephen once broke up with a disgruntled girlfriend who objected to one of his purchases – a You Only Live Twice poster (file image)
‘I’ve been obsessed with Bond since I was 13-years-old,’ Mr Sherrard-Griffith said.
‘The reason I love James Bond so much is because of the escapism. He’s human though, he has a vulnerability about him.
‘He’s brave, he’s fearless, he does what he needs to for king and country, he doesn’t always like killing but accepts he sometimes has to do it and put his life on the line for his country.
‘Above all though, he’s suave and smooth, the kind of man you want to be.’
Stephen’s love of Bond truly knows no bounds and said he once broke up with a disgruntled girlfriend who objected to one of his purchases.
‘I did break up with a girl who didn’t like the collection,’ he said.
‘I bought a very rare poster and she didn’t didn’t seem interested in it at all, it was a very rare You Only Live Twice poster.
‘A few days later we broke up because I didn’t get over it.’
Mr Sheppard-Griffith has made collecting James Bond memorabilia his full time job
Stephen said he first became obsessed with Bond when he was a teenager.
‘My mum was working at a retail store and after school I would go into the town where she worked and hung around,’ he said.
‘In the book department of the store there was a book on the 25th anniversary of Bond with all of the films in.
‘I started reading the book one day and asked her to get it for me.
‘For two weeks this went on, it fascinated me.
The 44-year-old even dumped a girlfriend after she was not interested in his collection (pictured)
His collection involves the original novels and rare merchandise from the James Bond films
‘I kept showing up and and one day she told me not to come into her work, I did what I was told and went home.
‘When she came home she had a bag with her.
‘She handed it to me and said “there you go, now stop coming into my work”.
‘I opened up the bag and there was the book, I read it from cover to cover, that’s how it began.’
Stephen said that over the years he’s amassed a staggering 4,000 items of individual memorabilia from each the 24 Bond films.
The highlights of Stephen’s vast collection which fills three rooms of his home includes rare figurines and models from each of the films.
One of the main pieces is a rare model of Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 worth $4,000 (pictured)
His collection includes a rare model of Timothy Dalton from the film ‘The Living Daylights’ (pictured)
Pictured is a rare model of Timothy Dalton from the film ‘The Living Daylights’
One of the main pieces is a rare model of Bond’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 worth $4,000.
He also owns countless props used in the movies including the Spy Who Loved me’s famous Walther PPK and a rare model of Timothy Dalton from The Living Daylights.
‘I started collecting when I was about 14 which was when I got my first few pieces,’ Mr Sherrard-Griffith said.
‘In 2015 I started to collect full-time and I’ve built up the fastest growing collection in the world and even have my own Youtube channel called The James Bond show.
‘I’ve got everything from rare posters, autographs, books, cards and props.
‘I’ve got about 4,000 individual pieces of memorabilia.
‘My favourite item is a model of Timothy Dalton from the film The Living Daylights.
‘They weren’t officially produced and very few were made. It’s an extremely rare piece and other big Bond collectors don’t have it.
‘I’ve been offered money for it but it’s not for sale, it’s going in the coffin. I’ve bought stuff from all over the world.’
The collection includes everything from figurines to puzzles (pictured)
His collection (pictured) is one of the fastest growing collections in the world
The Bond obsessive added that he can’t wait for the next installment of the epic series but said that of all the Bonds nobody does it better than Timothy Dalton.
‘My favourite bond is Timothy Dalton as he was the most realistic incarnation to what Ian Fleming created in the books,’ he said.
‘My favourite bond films are a tie between Licence to Kill and For Your Eyes Only.
‘They’re both very different films but both actors give their best performances in those films and I love the revenge aspect in Licence to Kill.’
Mr Sheppard-Griffith also has his own YouTube show, ‘The James Bond’ show about his collection (pictured)