A collection of games and puzzles

A collection of games and puzzles

comprising:

Travel Scrabble, boardgame, box worn

Scrabble, boardgame, side panels coming loose from box, contents loose

Can You Survive Your Mid-Life Crisis, boardgame, 1982

Monopoly, boardgame, some wear to box

München, 1000 piece puzzle, unopened

Richard Dadd, The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke puzzle, Friends of the Tate Gallery, worn

The Allied Entertainments' Game, framed, 1985(?), soiled

Ping pong bat, two skipping ropes, Queen Australian tour 1985 backstage pass, all in rainbow canvas duffell bag

Freddie's love of scrabble is well documented and he is seen both at home and on tour using the full-size and travel scrabble sets in photographs and video footage.

"Scrabble was a game he loved, and was exceptionally good at, having played since an early age with an elderly aunt. When the Scrabble board came out, it was a magnet to him and he would interfere, advising the current players or insisting we scrap the game and start a new one to include him. Whatever work he was doing was put on hold and thousands of pounds of studio time were wasted while Fred waited for the elusive seven-letter, triple-word square. ‘Lacquers’ was one word that particularly astounded him as it fell into place on the triple-word square. It came from me! He regularly did the daily word puzzle games in the English newspapers, striking one of his stage poses of raised arm and clenched fist, when he had solved the major nine-letter word from the box of letters – which never took him very long. Pumped up and excited, he would then offer to arm-wrestle all comers. Sitting at the dining table, he would take on anybody who was up for the challenge. I had to let him win – I couldn’t embarrass my boss, could I …". Peter Hince, Queen Unseen.

Mary recalled Freddie and her going to the Tate to the Richard Dadd exhibition in 1974 from which the 500 piece jigsaw was bought. He was enchanted by Dadd's painting The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke (1855-64) and composed a song that became track 7 in Queen II inspired by the darkly wondrous piece. Indeed, when Queen II was released, the album included a fold-out cover with a reproduction of the painting. The auction also includes a print of the painting cut by Freddie from a magazine, see lot 1848.