Correspondence from Ian Fleming has been excavated from archives held by cartoonist John McLusky's son, offering a rare window into the 007 creator's precise vision for his character's appearance. In the late 1950s, Fleming worked with McLusky on a Daily Express comic strip adaptation and engaged in detailed written exchanges with an artist commissioned to draw Bond based on his notes. Though most of this nearly 70-year-old exchange has been lost to time, recently discovered pages reveal Fleming's meticulous approach to establishing the spy's visual identity.

Fleminig's feedback on Bond's appearance included the memorable instruction to 'avoid giving Bond an American-shaped head and a duck's haircut.' These letters supplemented his earlier descriptions in the novels, which characterised Bond as 6 feet tall with black hair, blue eyes, and a distinctive facial scar—occasionally invoking a resemblance to crooner Hoagy Carmichael. The discovery provides historical documentation of the author's creative intent at a moment when the James Bond franchise remains the subject of ongoing public discussion about casting and character interpretation.