A selection of Freddie Mercury’s personal belongings will be auctioned off on September 6th, 7th and 8th. Under the title “Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own”, the auction house Sotheby’s is offering numerous items from Mercury’s private collection for sale. Alongside artwork and furnishings from his London home, some of the former Queen singer’s most famous stage outfits, manuscripts and handwritten lyrics are also on display.
The auction will take place over three days in London. On the first evening, a selection of artworks, objects, costumes and texts will be sold at the “Evening Sale”. The “On Stage Sale” will follow on September 7th. This sale brings together costumes, instruments, lyrics and items from 20 years of band history. The final day of the auction is dedicated to Mercury’s personal belongings. The At Home Sale features a collection of fine and decorative arts, china and glass.
Freddie Mercury: Auction in London
Although Freddie has publicly acknowledged his homosexuality, he has not only lived with a woman once. In the early 1970s he met the saleswoman Mary Austin in London, with whom he then moved in together. The two shared a home in London’s West Kensington. Although the two separated in 1976, their friendship lasted until his death. But his legacies are huge. And these are now being auctioned off by the British auction house Sotheby’s. These included numerous pieces from the house they shared, the Garden Lodge, which Freddie inherited from his partner at the time, Mary Austin.
“The years have passed and it is time I made the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life,” Austin said of the reasons for the sale. Sotheby’s said: “She wants to finalize the sale now so she can oversee it herself and share this new side of Freddie Mercury with the world.”
Freddie Mercury auction at Sotheby’s
The previews for the auction of Freddie Mercury’s personal goods will run until September. This will take place from September 6th to 8th inclusive. Previews in London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong have already started. The said king’s costume should also come under the hammer. The previous estimate of the velvet cape and the crown, which is based on the real English royal crown, is the equivalent of 90,000 euros.
Also up for auction is Mercury’s nine-page handwritten manuscript of We Are The Champions, estimated to be worth a quarter of a million euros. The most valuable auction item is the lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The Queen singer recorded his ideas for his biggest hit on 15 pages. The proceeds for the legendary document are said to be more than one million euros.
Freddie Mercury was a fashion victim. It is therefore logical that one or the other iconic piece from his wardrobe is sold off at the auction. Included are his favorite vest, worn in his last video “These Are The Days Of Our Lives” in 1991, or a military-style jacket made for Freddie Mercury’s 39th birthday party in Munich. Footage of this can be seen in the video for his 1986 solo single Living On My Own. The estimated price is between 12,000 and 20,000 euros.
Other personal items that Mary Austin parted with include a Tiffany mustache comb (estimate: €450-700), pink star-shaped glasses (€2,300-€4,600), a sketchbook (€3,500) and a watercolor painting by Erté , which his close friend Elton John had given him (estimate: 2,300 to 3,500 euros). Freddie Mercury was an esthete and a great art lover. A real Matisse was also part of his collection.
Another valuable item in the auction is a painting by James Jacques Tissot. Type of Beauty (1880) was the last work of art Mercury bought: the painting that hung in his drawing room depicts Tissot’s muse and lover, Kathleen Newton. The estimated price is between 460,000 and 700,000 euros. His other furnishings included a classic Fabergé desk clock with gems, nephrite and enamel (circa 1908-17) from Mercury’s bedroom, and his vintage rotary telephone, which stood by his bed.