With over 30,000 items and an original estimate between £7.6m and £11.3m, Freddie Mercury's auction at Sotheby's in London exceeded expectations, fetching £39.9m in just over a week.
Despite a slowing global economy, the opening night alone set a record for the highest total in any celebrity sale. Notable sales include Mercury's crown and cloak, selling for £629,000, almost 10 times the estimate, and a Tiffany & Co moustache comb that went for £152,400, over 250 times its estimate. The auction's success (140,000 people visited Sotheby's to view the items) highlights the enduring appeal and legacy of the iconic Queen frontman.
Modus met the three exceptional women who helped bring this sale to the public and asked them about the challenges in discovering, valuing and selling the belongings of an international rock star who is so fondly remembered.
Rachel Reilly is the senior director and head of valuation for Europe at Sotheby’s London. Sarah Hodgson and Carey Wallace are memorabilia specialists and co-founders of Wallace and Hodgson, who were engaged as consultants to work on the wardrobe section of the sale.
During their conversation with Ashley Stewart-Noble, head of content on Modus, they cover the initial phone call Rachel received from Mercury’s friend Mary Austen; how they earned the nickname “the glam rock detectives”; and why Mercury’s auction dwarfed the celebrity memorabilia auctions that had gone before him, including Marilyn Monroe and Eric Clapton.
Listen now using the audio player below. We have divided the interview into four chapters, each approximately 10 minutes long.
Chapter one
Introducing the auction; the people who made it happen; the challenges of curating and valuing such an impressive collection of memorabilia that once belonged to Freddie Mercury.
Chapter two
Comparing the scale of the auction to others that have gone before it; preparing such a significant auction in a tight timeframe; the huge numbers of visitors that came to Sotheby’s to see the items before the auction.
Chapter three
The process of valuation; authentication, identification and becoming the ‘glam rock detectives’; finding the original designers of some of the clothes; what we learned about Freddie Mercury from his personal belongings.
Chapter four
What the success of this auction taught them; the discovery of Freddie Mercury’s birthday party bar bill; the international appeal of Queen and how that impacted the number of new bidders at the auction.
