A well-traveled Bond, James Bond

Out of the blue, I received a call from Bob from New Jersey. Now, I get a LOT of calls out of the blue from the Bobs-of-New-Jersey of the world (that is to be expected when you run a tour business). This Bob had a catch: he wondered if I was interested in a copy of the 1941 book Birds of Mt. Desert Island, Acadia National Park, Maine, by Carroll Tyson and James Bond. Yes, THE Bond, James Bond. That would be the ornithologist, not Her Majesty’s secret agent. Better yet, this copy was autographed by Bond!

Bob has been coming to Mount Desert Island since 1976. His father worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, as did Bond. At some point, when Bond left the Academy, Bob’s father found this book in the garbage! Sacrilege! Needless to say, the book was rescued and made its way to Bob.

Years went by, Bob continued visiting Mount Desert Island. In the 1990s, he started attending College of the Atlantic’s “Week for Teachers and Families.” His last trip to this region was in 2006. It is quite possible we sat near each other for a meal in Take A Break, COA’s dining hall, although neither Bob nor I recall ever meeting.

Jump forward to the present, Bob decided it was time to find an appreciative home for the book. He found me quoted in a 2012 issue of Downeast Magazine saying that Bond’s work has endured for more than 70 years as the most extensive and important guide to birds of the island. So Bob sought me out with a call out of the blue. Today, I have this signed copy of Birds of Mt. Desert Island, Acadia National Park, Maine (the inscription reads, “To Rúdolph, who is so interested in the birds of Mt. Desert!? James Bond”), along with a lovely letter from Bob detailing the book’s provenance, along with a page from the 2012 Downeast Magazine where Bob found me.

Thank you, Bob! I hope we can meet one day!

“To Rúdolph, who is so interested in the birds of Mt. Desert!? James Bond”