Those items, along with the statues of E.T. and the cast-iron gate decorated with the royal coat of arms of Britain, could belong only to Michael Jackson, whose style of self-enshrinement has always mixed the regal and the childlike. They are part of an auction of Jacksoniana so large that it has been installed in a former Robinsons-May department store here.
In a preview for the news media on Monday, workers carried signs from Neverland painted with Maxfield Parrish-like pastorals, while inside Mr. Jackson’s goods were arranged in loose, thematic sections: glittering stage costumes over here, Disney collectibles over there, paintings of Mr. Jackson as an Elizabethan noble here and there.
“We’ve recreated Neverland,” said Darren Julien, the president of Julien’s Auctions, which is conducting the sale.
But Mr. Jackson’s financial troubles have been well publicized — Neverland Valley Ranch, Mr. Jackson’s former home (and amusement park and zoo) 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles, narrowly escaped foreclosure last year — and for a visitor browsing through his record-sales awards and rhinestone-encrusted socks, it’s never quite clear whether you are picking over the refuse of the most prolific collector since Charles Foster Kane or prying away items that may still have sentimental value.
To be clear, Mr. Jackson initially supported this sale but lately has balked. Indeed, Mr. Jackson’s representatives have tried to stop the sale in court, saying that he was never given an opportunity to sift out personal effects. One motion was denied by a judge two weeks ago, but another hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Mr. Jackson, who hired Julien’s last year to conduct the sale, recently sold out a 50-concert run at the O2 arena in London, beginning in July. The auction, with 1,390 lots taken from Neverland, opens for public viewing on Tuesday; the sale is to run April 22 to 25. A five-volume, 900-page catalog is available for browsing online (juliensauctions.com). In addition to bids submitted at the scene, online bids will be accepted.
Put together, the items form a picture of their owner that isn’t exactly surprising, given Mr. Jackson’s very public eccentricity. But in its sheer quantity the collection is a revealing tour through some of Mr. Jackson’s obsessions.
For one, he likes his military-style outerwear, and he likes it to sparkle. There’s the red lamé jacket, for example, with gold tassels and red bugle beads (Lot No. 1,141, estimated at $4,000 to $6,000). And, more modestly priced, the navy-and-gold number with crown-shaped brooches, worn at a 1999 news conference with Nelson Mandela (No. 1,273, $400 to $600).
When Mr. Jackson likes something, he really likes it. Bronze garden statues of young children frolic by the dozen. Disney cartoon characters, along with Peter Pan — whose Neverland island gave the Jackson estate its name — pop up in paintings and figurines, sometimes dressed like their collector.
And then of course there are the gloves: 13 of them (Nos. 1,366 through 1,374), each one covered in “iridescent Swarovski loch rosen crystals.” The most recognizable design, in silvery white and dated to the early 1980s, is estimated at up to $15,000, and it sits in an honored position in the center of the auction’s front room, along with a scepter and crown.
But the majority of the items have far lower estimated values — hundreds have been priced at less than $1,000 each — and whether you interpret those prices as reflective of Mr. Jackson’s taste, pop-cultural status or largess toward his fans probably determines whether you have any interest in bidding.
If Mr. Jackson has his way, however, all of it will remain off the market.
As part of the deal last year that saved Neverland from foreclosure, Mr. Jackson had to remove all his possessions from the estate, according to court documents. Rather than find storage for it all, Tohme R. Tohme, the president of MJJ Productions, Mr. Jackson’s company, and a spokesman for the singer, signed a contract consigning to Julien’s “all movable and removable personal property located at Neverland Ranch.”
“They approved the press release,” said Mr. Julien, whose company has handled memorabilia auctions for Barbra Streisand, Cher and other celebrities. “Michael himself even drove by the auction site.”
But Alan S. Gutman, MJJ’s lawyer, said that Julien’s never made good on a promise to let Mr. Jackson review the catalog and remove any personal items. “That would include his awards, wardrobes, the gloves, photographs, gifts he received, letters that he received, things of that nature,” he said. Mr. Tohme declined to be interviewed for this article.
This is not the first time that a Jackson auction has been contested in court. Two years ago another large collection — the contents of a warehouse that had been lost by Mr. Jackson’s parents and siblings, as part of a bankruptcy settlement — made its way to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and lawsuits flew like arrows. The sale went on as planned, but it brought in a modest $1 million.
Mr. Julien said he was confident that the auction would take place, and noted that Mr. Jackson and MJJ Productions were the owners of the property, and would collect the profits of the sale. (The auction house takes commissions of 35 percent.) Representatives of Julien’s say that the company has invested $2 million into the auction, and that it expects to raise $15 million to $20 million in sales.
“It’s going to be massive,” Mr. Julien said. “It’s unlike anything anybody has ever seen.”