Stonington library to host award-winning automotive historian
Mary Seelhorst will discuss James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, a cinematic ‘icon’
The iconic vehicle was stolen in 1997 and the crime remains unsolved. Photo courtesy of Stonington Public Library.
July 13, 2026
By Staff
STONINGTON—Stonington Public Library will host automotive historian Mary Seelhorst for a talk about “The Platonic Ideal of a Sports Car: James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5” on July 22 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. The event is part of SPL’s Seaside Series.
According to a press release, Seelhorst will “present a tale of true crime, twisted provenance, pop culture, philosophy, folklore, museums, movie-making, myth busting, and an unsolved mystery.” The program will explore the “making of an automotive icon that’s endured and grown since the car was introduced in the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger.”
Seelhorst will address “the perceived authenticity and value of the original movie cars, their slippery provenance, and the DB5’s resurrection in movies, real life, and the collective imagination,” the release said. In addition, she “will reveal previously unknown facts and fresh insights about the 1997 theft of the tricked-out movie car - still missing - uncovered by a documentary filmmaker working on a forthcoming series about the car’s disappearance.”
Mary Seelhorst’s talk will ‘reveal previously unknown facts and fresh insights about the 1997 theft of the tricked-out movie car.’ Photo courtesy of Stonington Public Library.
Seelhorst is an award-winning independent exhibit developer and writer who “played a personal role in the story of the stolen Goldfinger car,” the release said. Her work focuses on the history of technology and popular culture. In the last 20 years, her museum work “has increasingly centered on automotive exhibits,” including projects for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, The Henry Ford, the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Museum in Detroit, and the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville, Florida.
Opera House Arts at the Stonington Opera House will be screening the film Goldfinger on July 20 at 7:00 p.m.
The Seaside Series is held every Wednesday in July and August from 12:00-1:00 p.m. For a full list of events, please visit www.stonington.lib.me.us.