In “Playbill,” the page that introduces the March 1960 Playboy magazine, editors provide context for the first appearance of a James Bond short story contributed to that issue by Ian Fleming.

During a visit to Chicago, Fleming had been to the Playboy Building and “was properly impressed by the smart decor and the uncommon beauty of the receptionists and secretaries.”

As it stands, this makes for great biographical insight — with the 007 thrillers still in ascendency, the Eon Productions film deal yet to be struck, and Ian Fleming himself over four years from the end of life. Playboy refers to “those healthily selling novels” and list as examples (in this order): Doctor No (1958), Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), and Goldfinger (1959).

More importantly to this Blog entry, however, is the following quote from Fleming, which gives insight to the character he created.

I’m sure James Bond, if he were an actual person, would be a registered reader of Playboy.

For the articles?