An engraved revolver owned by legendary British author Ian Fleming has been sold at auction in Knightsbridge, London.
The Colt Python .357 Magnum, which is still in working condition, was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder for £12,000, including buyer's premium.
However, the item had been expected to fetch nearer £15,000.
The gun, described as "highly collectable" by auctioneers Bonhams, was tailor-made for the novelist and presented to him by the Colt Company in 1964, the year he died.
It is engraved with the words: "Presented To Ian Fleming By Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co".
Fleming was best remembered for writing the series of novels featuring the super-spy character James Bond, as well as the children's story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Bonhams spokesman Julian Roup said: "Ian Fleming took flak from critics who claimed he left Bond exposed and under-gunned with the Italian Beretta .25.
"In Doctor No, Bond abandoned the Beretta and took up a Walther PPK 7.65mm as his standard issue firearm.
"It was around the time that Fleming was writing The Man with the Golden Gun that Colt presented the .357 Magnum to him.
"But Fleming never armed his famous spy with the heavy Colt, perhaps because it would have spoiled the line of his immaculate dinner jacket, while the PPK was smaller and easier to conceal."
Fifty-six-year-old Fleming died of a heart attack on August 12, 1964, in Canterbury, Kent.
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