(London) More than 1,400 of Freddie Mercury’s personal items, including his flamboyant stage costumes, handwritten drafts of Bohemian Rhapsody and the grand piano he used to compose Queen’s greatest hits, will be on display for free at Sotheby’s, in London, ahead of their auction.
The singer’s extensive collection of personal effects, which had been left to Mercury’s close friend Mary Austin, had lain untouched in her west London mansion for 30 years since her death in 1991.
Austin, 72, said in an April interview with the BBC that she had decided to sell almost all of the items to “close this very special chapter in (her) life” and “get some order in ( his business “.
Among Mercury’s hundreds of personal treasures were his dazzling sequined jumpsuits, leather jackets, and sumptuous red cape and crown he wore during his final performance of Queen in 1986, as well as sketches of hits Don’t Stop. Me Now, We Are The Champions and Somebody to Love.
The manuscript draft of Bohemian Rhapsody – which shows Mercury experimented with the name of the song Mongolian Rhapsody before scratching it out – is expected to fetch between £800,000-1.2m (CDN1.35-2m)
“Of all the items he owned, this was the one that meant the most to him,” said auction house specialist Gabriel Heaton.
Other notable items include Mercury’s art collection, with works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Marc Chagall; handwritten invitations to his birthday parties and dinner parties and his eclectic collections of antique furniture, Japanese kimonos and cat figurines.
The exhibition opens on Friday and will run until September 5. The items will then be sold in a series of auctions later that month.
