Michael Jackson's White Glove Sold for £85,000 at Auction

The glove worn by Jackson during the 1983 ‘Motown 25’ TV special ( Getty Images )
The glove worn by Jackson during the 1983 ‘Motown 25’ TV special ( Getty Images )
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Michael Jackson's White Glove Sold for £85,000 at Auction

The glove worn by Jackson during the 1983 ‘Motown 25’ TV special ( Getty Images )
The glove worn by Jackson during the 1983 ‘Motown 25’ TV special ( Getty Images )

Michael Jackson's iconic crystal-studded white glove has sold for more than £85,000 at an auction in Texas. According to The Sun, the anonymous buyer received a letter confirming it was donated to Unicef in 1998, alongside an envelope from the MJJ production company founded by Jackson. Jackson is thought to have said of his experience wearing the glove on his Bad Tour: "I felt one glove was cool. Wearing two seemed so ordinary."

The first leather glove worn by Jackson in 1983 during his famous moonwalk dance was sold for $350,000 in 2009, at a New York auction that was selling many of the late American star's memorabilia. The price fetched by the glove, which was sold alongside about 70 of Michael Jackson's possessions, was nine times the number projected by the curators. A coat Jackson wore during his Bad Tour concerts in 1989 was also sold for $225,000, along with a hat for $22,000.

The New York auction gathered thousands of the late pop star's fans. Auctions curator Darren Julien said the glove worn by Jackson during the moonwalk dance was among the most valuable and symbolic items, yet he didn't expect it to fetch such price.

The singer's iconic glove is not the only musician's belonging to have fetched thousands at auction in recent years. In 2019, John Lennon's legendary round sunglasses sold for £137,000 at Sotheby's auction, while sketches of Paul McCartney's piano designs were recently sold for £2,000.

Micheal Jackson died of a heart attack in his house in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 2009.



Mercedes 1955 ‘Streamliner’ Set to Smash F1 Record at Auction

Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
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Mercedes 1955 ‘Streamliner’ Set to Smash F1 Record at Auction

Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)

A sleek, long-nosed Mercedes raced by Stirling Moss and five-times Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 could become the most expensive grand prix car of all time at an auction in Stuttgart on Saturday.

The W196 R Stromlinienwagen ("Streamline car"), one of only four complete examples in existence, is being sold by RM Sotheby's on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) at a target price of more than 50 million euros ($52 million).

If it meets the estimate, it would also be the second costliest car ever sold at auction after a 1955 Mercedes 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sportscar that changed hands for 135 million euros in May 2022.

The most expensive grand prix car sold at auction to date was another ex-Fangio 1954 Mercedes W196 that fetched $29.6 million at Goodwood in 2013.

The IMS car is the first streamline-bodied W196 R to become available for private ownership and, in its open-wheel form, was driven to victory by Fangio at the non-championship Buenos Aires Grand Prix in 1955.

Moss raced it with the streamline body at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, retiring after setting the fastest lap at an average speed of 215.7 kph.

Mercedes withdrew from factory-sponsored motorsport in 1955 after a Le Mans 24 Hours disaster that killed 84 people, returning to Formula One as an engine maker in 1994.

The car is presented in its Monza livery with full documentation.

"Without any doubt, it's the most beautiful race car in the world and ever. Nothing can compare. It's simply a masterpiece of style and design," Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz heritage, told Reuters Television.

"It is very fast. The top speed is actually above and beyond 300 kph.

"I wouldn't expect that it's too much of an effort to get it back to driving condition. And we gladly will offer whoever buys the car to do it for them."

The car, chassis number 00009/54, was donated to the IMS by Mercedes in 1965 and is being sold to raise funds for the museum's restoration efforts.

The Indianapolis museum, which is aiming to become more US-focused, is selling a total of 11 cars from its collection at three separate auctions this year.

The Mercedes "Silver Arrows" dominated the immediate pre- and post World War Two era of grand prix racing with the W196 R a world-beater in 1954 and 1955.

The streamlined bodywork with enclosed wheels was used at high-speed circuits, with the open-wheeled version favored for more twisty tracks.