Michael Jackson’s white glove auctioned for $350,000
Michael Jackson’s famous white glove sold for $350,000 at a memorabilia auction Saturday, soaring far past pre-sale estimates, and a black jacket he wore during a 1989 world tour fetched $225,000.
The Jackson memorabilia was the highlight of an auction of hundreds of rock ‘n’ roll items, including many not associated with the King of Pop, who died in June.
Darren Julien, chief executive of Julien’s Auctions, which ran the sale, called the glove “the Holy Grail of Michael Jackson,” and many expected it to sell for far more than its pre-sale estimate of about $50,000.
With the added commission, the final price excluding taxes ran to about $420,000.
The buyer was Hong Kong businessman Fossman Ma.
Bidding for the strap- and zipper-laden black jacket Jackson wore during the 1989 “Bad” tour soared to $225,000, more than 20 times its initial estimate. With commission, the tab came to about $275,000.
Fans and dealers turned out at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York’s Times Square for the sale that included a car driven by Jackson, as well as David Bowie’s guitar and memorabilia from the Beatles, Bo Diddley and others.
“I never got to see Michael, and now that he’s gone, this is the closest I could get,” said Jazmynn Moore, 19, a student from Manhattan.
The glove was worn by Jackson when he first staged his signature “moonwalk” dance at the 1983 “Motown 25” television special.
The opening bid of $10,000 leaped immediately to $120,000 before reaching $350,000.
Most of the 80 Jackson lots consisted of items from the singer’s friends and family, the auctioneer said.
Jackson was somewhat of a collector himself, having paid more than $1.5 million for the “Gone With the Wind” best picture Oscar statue at a Sotheby’s auction, one of the highest prices ever paid for memorabilia at auction.
The auction house had valued the Jackson collection at $80,000 to $100,000.
But Julien said such pre-auction estimates were intentionally conservative to help generate interest.
Many of Jackson’s items sold for 10 times, or even more than 20 times, the estimates.