Freddie Mercury’s friend, Mary Austin, is putting a number of his personal effects up for auction, and they’ll be displayed in a free exhibition ahead of their sale.
Mercury gave Austin the items, and the 72-year-old decided now is the best time to put them on the auction block, citing that she wants to “close this very special chapter in my life” and “put my affairs in order,” The Associated Press (AP) reported Thursday. More than 1400 items are expected to be displayed at Sotheby’s London, including handwritten drafts of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the grand piano the legendary artist used to compose Queen’s greatest hit compilations.
Insights into the house of legend 🏡
By. @Sothebys#FreddieMercury #London
©️ Mercury Productions Ltd pic.twitter.com/ecA7Fs58QO
— Freddie Mercury (@Farrokh_Mercury) August 3, 2023
The majority of the items have been stored in the late artist’s London mansion for 30 years since his death in 1991, according to The AP.
Those bidding on this rare collection can select from working drafts of the hit songs ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ ‘We Are The Champions,’ and ‘Somebody to Love,’ and the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ draft shows that Mercury toyed with calling the song ‘Mongolian Rhapsody,’ at one time. That particular draft is expected to fetch more than $1.5 million.
“We have here working lyrics for pretty much every song that Freddie Mercury wrote through the 1970s,” Gabriel Heaton, a specialist at Sotheby’s, said. “We’ve got extensive working drafts that really showed how songs developed, how they changed, how they took shape in the most wonderful way.”
Perhaps the most valuable and most sentimental item on the list is Mercury’s baby grand piano, which is poised to sell for roughly $2.5-$3.8 million. It was a part of the artist’s collection from 1975 until the time of his death.
“Of all the objects that he had, this is the one that meant the most to him,” Heaton said, according to The AP. (RELATED: Woman Hits The Jackpot After Purchasing Storage Unit Belonging To Famous Rapper)
Other items include sequin costumes, tight catsuits, leather jackets, and a red cape and crown he wore during his last performance with Queen in 1986. Some of his silk kimonos and a childhood school book with his name on it are also part of the rare collection.
Mercury’s art collection, featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Marc Chagall, his furniture, and his cat figurines are also going up for auction.