A employee poses next to a pair of swimming trunks worn by Daniel Craig in the film "Casino Royal" during a media preview of "50 Years of James Bond – the Auction" at Christie's in London on September 28, 2012.Reuters
Props, costumes and memorabilia from 50 years of James Bond films went up for auction in London on Friday, with an Aston Martin car and a pair of Daniel Craig's swimming trunks among the lots.
Christie's auction house expects the tight sky-blue shorts – which left some fans shaken and stirred when the current 007 wore them his 2006 debut, Casino Royale – to fetch up to £5,000 ($8,000).
Other star lots in the charity auction include an Aston Martin DBS, used by Craig in a car chase through Italy in Quantum of Solace, which is expected to fetch up to £150,000.
Christie's director Nicolette Tomkinson said there were items from every single Bond film among the 50 lots celebrating a half-century of the glamorous British spy.
"We've tried to make them exciting and accessible," she told AFP. "It's really a landmark sale for Bond."
Other items include the tarot cards used by Jane Seymour's character Solitaire in Live And Let Die, a fake ice table seen in Die Another Day, and costumes worn by Bond stars from Timothy Dalton to Pierce Brosnan.
Of the total 50 items, 40 went up for online auction on Friday, while the final 10 will be sold at Christie's on October 5, the 50th anniversary of the first screening of Dr No.
Proceeds from the auction will go to 12 different charities.
The newest Bond film, Skyfall, is due for release in Britain and Ireland on October 26 and the U.S. and Canada on November 9.
Directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes, it sees Craig play the secret agent for a third time, opposite Spanish actor Javier Bardem as the villain.
Judi Dench returns as 007's no-nonsense boss M, while Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris star as the Bond girls.