Around 1,500 personal and iconic items belonging to Queen Freddie Mercury , including costumes, handwritten songs and artwork, will be auctioned in September, Sotheby's announced on Wednesday, the 26th.
The pieces will be on display in New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong in June, and then travel to London, where they will be sold. The items will be there between August 4th and September 5th.
Among the items are a crown and a faux fur and red velvet cape, famous for having been used by the vocalist to sing "God Save The Queen" during the last tour with Queen, The Magic Tour in 1986. The value is estimated between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds sterling (approximately 73,800 and 99,100 dollars).
Another iconic item for sale is the composition of “We Are The Champions,” handwritten by Freddie Mercury in nine pages. The price is estimated between £200,000 and £300,000 (approximately $220,250 to $373,300).
In a press release from Sotheby's, Mercury's friend and former girlfriend, Mary Austin , who cared for the items for over 30 years at her former home, Garden Lodge in Kensington, said she had decided it was time to let the items go.
“For many years, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought and loved so much,” Austin said in a statement. “But the years have passed and the time has come to make the difficult decision to close this very special chapter of my life.”
When Freddie died in 1991, he left the house and its contents to Mary, his former girlfriend and longtime friend. For three decades, Austin kept the house and its contents almost exactly as they were when Mercury died, but now she has decided to sell the collection.
Austin will donate a portion of the sales proceeds to the HIV/AIDS charities Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
