Christie's expects renewed interest in Jackson 5 sale
London auction house Christie's said it expects increased interest in a black and white signed photograph of the Jackson 5 scheduled to be sold next week in a sale that was planned before pop star Michael Jackson died last night.
Christie's said the sale was expected to fetch between £400 (€467.7) and £600. A spokeswoman said they will not raise the estimate on account of Jackson's death, but anticipated increased interest in the photo.
She added: "It is too early to ascertain the effect of today's news on the value of Michael Jackson memorabilia; this will be felt over time and dictated by supply of items to the market."
Sales of memorabilia relating to the pop star are now expected to reach new highs. “Provenance is the most important thing for many collectors and they will pay through the nose for the right name,” says Pippa Roberts, a London-based art and antiques expert.
An estimated $10m (€7.1m) auction of 1,400 of the American singer's belongings had been due to take place this April, but was cancelled at the last minute and Hollywood-based auctioneer Julien's returned all items to Jackson. It is not yet clear whether the auction house will relaunch the sale.
The sale of such items is unlikely to repay outstanding debt in the Jackson estate, reported to be in $500m at the time of his death. Future sales of his recorded music are likely to be a more important source of income. His estate also has a half share in a music catalogue which incorporates rights to his album, Thriller - the best selling of all time - and the Beatles song catalogue. According to one analyst, the estate's share of the catalogue is said to be $500m.
A central player in the future of his estate will be Thomas Barrack's Los-Angeles based private equity and real estate firm Colony Capital, which came to the financial rescue of the singer last year, by purchasing a $24.5m distressed loan to his Neverland ranch on which he had previously defaulted, The Wall Street Journal reported. Barrack played a part in stimulating Philip Anschutz's interest in financing Jackson's planned UK comeback tour, according to Business Week.
Last year, sunglasses owned by the late legendary soul singer James Brown sold for $8,750 through Christie's. Without the association, experts say they would have been virtually worthless .A signed Beatles album originally worth £45 would fetch at least £35,000 today, according to Stanley Gibbons Investments.
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