Freddie Auction and Sotheby's book discussion

Maybe it, ah, “went with” him…

In a frame?? Or are you suggesting that Brian turned up one afternoon with his identically framed number 2 under his arm, casually, and nobody noticed that it was number 1 he left with?

From memory Roger has/had no. 1

Absolutely not.  That would be a scurrilous suggestion!

There, straight from the horse’s (via a fish’s) mouth. Whoever wants to archive them for future generations, please do so – but (and this isn’t aimed specifically at you, akirafish) let’s now refrain from discussing downloading these images and get back to discussing our frustration that we’ll never see or hear most of it! 😁

I’m largely unfamiliar with Harry Potter so I don’t get this.

I fell asleep in the theater watching the first Lord of the Rings movie, and went to see the second one only because I was suffering from insomnia at the time and needed to fall asleep somehow! (I did not see the third, as my sleeping habits had improved a little.)

And Douglas Adams is perhaps my favorite author, with Terry Pratchett nipping just at his heels.

ditto Douglas Adams - IMO the finest 20th century writer and taken from us way too soon.
Even his unfinished book (Salmon of Doubt) is a great read.

<sigh>

Mods, maybe there should be some sort of visual indicator for posters who just won't be told, or think the rules don't apply to them? Maybe an enforced "Idiot" avatar for a period of 3 months?

Just noticed something else. Lots 2,3,4,6,8,9,10,17,24,504,508,510,549,550,551,556,580,582,585 were only BOUGHT in 1991.

Whch begs the question - what did the walls look like in 1990? Either a completely different set of paintings that were then sold / given away, or just blank

Lot 1053 was even bought on 11 November 1991. I’m speechless.

Lot 665 description: ‘Freddie had a burst of buying activity in 1991, often purchasing gifts for his close friends including Mary Austin and Elton John, in the months leading up to his death on 24 November 1991. ‘

well not online, but maybe some form of home shopping? was there an art-world Argos equivalent back in '91?

Gosh, of course! There was no internet then. How quickly we forget life before Google and Amazon! ☺️

On page 76 of the Sotheby's book, Mary says that a tape recorder was usually set on top of the piano, and there's at least one example of a home recording circulating of Freddie and friends singing at the piano.

Surely there must be other cassettes like this (or more serious home demos), but as far as I can tell, none are being auctioned. Are audio recordings of Freddie handled differently for contractual reasons by Queen Productions, so that they become physical properties of Queen Productions, unlike the hand-written lyrics? If so, I wonder if previously unheard cassettes were unearthed during this process, and if they are in the Queen archives now. Or, maybe Mary chose to keep them private.

On page 243 there is a small collection of cassettes that appear to be blanks for personal recording (as opposed to cassette albums). Three of them says "The ????? House  / Freddie Mercury"... can anyone make it out? I don't think that word is Duck. Maybe Beach? I think another has "Billy Squier" and "April '86" on it. There are some EMI Queen CDs on the upper shelf, and at least three Japanese CDs. One is the soundtrack to Vision Quest, and another is the album Groovin' by Toshinobu Kubota, with another of his CD albums below.