Old Master and British Works on Paper

Property from the Estate of the late Alys Rickett

Property from the Estate of the late Alys Rickett Richard Dadd Chatham, Kent 1817 - 1886 Broadmoor Hospital, Berkshire A dream of fancy Watercolour; signed and inscribed lower centre: A Dream of Fancy. R' Dadd. Bethlehem Hospital 1859. 99 by 146 mm

a dream of fancy

Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries

Property from the Estate of the late Alys Rickett (1930-2022)

Property from the Estate of the late Alys Rickett (1930-2022) Richard Dadd Chatham, Kent 1817 - 1886 Broadmoor Hospital, Berkshire Sketch to Illustrate the Passions. Melancholy Watercolour and pen and black ink; signed and inscribed lower left: Sketch to illustrate the Passions. Melancholy. / by. Richard Dadd. Bethlehem Hospital London May 30th 1854 365 by 255 mm

View 1 of Lot 67: Sketch to Illustrate the Passions. Melancholy

sketch to illustrate the passions. melancholy

Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | Crazy Little Things 1

After Richard Dadd The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke coloured photographic print cut by Freddie from a magazine in a glazed giltwood frame together with an unframed page from a magazine centrefold with an article about Richard Dadd by Julián Doyle (2) the framed work overall: 43 by 35.5cm., 16⅞in. by 14in.

View 1 of Lot 1848: The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke

the fairy feller's master-stroke

The Dealer's Eye | London

PROPERTY FROM DANIEL KATZ GALLERY, LONDON

PROPERTY FROM DANIEL KATZ GALLERY, LONDON RICHARD DADD Chatham, Kent, 1817 – Broadmoor Hospital, Berks, 1886 STUDY OF MIDDLE-EASTERN HEADS signed lower left: R Dadd pencil and watercolour Framed: 43 x 37.5cm Unframed: 19 x 14 cm.; 7½ x 4½ in. To view Shipping Calculator, please click here

study of middle-eastern heads

Fine Old Master & 19th Century European Art

sketch to illustrate the passions - avarice

portrait of a young lady

Victorian & Edwardian Art

the gardener

a castle on a cliff overlooking a lake

A GREAT BRITISH COLLECTION: The pictures collected by Sir David and Lady Scott, sold to benefit the Finnis Scott Foundation

puck

richard dadd 1817-1886, the hall built by tathmosis iii in the great temple of amon...

Richard Dadd 1817-1886 landscape with castle signed l.l.: Composition: Sketch.Richd Dadd./Bethlem Hospital. London. May 7th 1857 watercolour over pencil 17 by 25 cm., 6 3/4 by 9 3/4 in. In 1857-8 Richard Dadd made a series of small watercolour landscapes in Bethlem hospital. Some were worked up directly from his sketchbook and others were imaginary, occasionally using details from previous sketches. The castle set high on a hill, as in the present watercolour, recurs in many of his backgrounds and was possibly influenced by memories of Rochester castle from his boyhood. The masonry on the right hand side of the keep is the exact shape of the ruined curtain wall at Rochester. Dadd was admitted to Bethlem hospital after his mental health totally broke down. On 28th August 1843, believing himself pursued by devils, he murdered his father in Cobham Park. In 1857, the year this watercolour was drawn, Dadd was moved from an isolated criminal ward to a specially converted ward in the main hospital. Despite his illness, this environment clearly helped Dadd to work and a description written at the time tells of him 'weaving his fine fancies on canvas amidst the most revolting conversation and the most brutal behaviour' (see Patricia Allderidge, Richard Dadd, 1974, p.26) Provenance: Anonymous sale at Christie's, 18th January 1972, lot 96 Exhibited: London, Tate Gallery, The Late Richard Dadd, 19 June-18 August 1974, no.164 Literature: David Greysmith, Richard Dadd - The Rock and Castle of Seclusion, 1973, p.178; Patricia Allderidge, The Late Richard Dadd, Exhibition Catalogue 1974, p.110, no.164, ill.; Patricia Allderidge, Richard Dadd, 1974, p.100, no.26, ill. p.38

richard dadd

richard dadd 1817-1886, wandering musicians, oil on canvas, 61 by 51cm., 24 by 20in.,...

richard dadd 1817-1886, ulysses disguised as a beggar, signed and inscribed with title...

Freddie Mercury—personal library Books on fantasy and fairytales, 17 volumes comprising: Edmund Dulac. Picture-book for the French Red Cross Edmund Dulac. Stories from the Arabian Nights Arthur Rackham. Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods Henry Gilbert. King Arthur's Knights, illustrated by Walter Crane C.M. Barker. Flower Fairies of the Trees C.M. Barker. A Flower Fairy Alphabet C.M. Barker. Flower Fairies of the Autumn Woodward and O'Connor. The Peter Pan Picture-book, 1930 Joseph Jacobs. Celtic Fairytales, 1971 Lord Dunsany. Gods, Men and Ghosts, 1972 Froud and Lee. Faeries, 1978 Fred Gettings. Arthur Rackham, 1975, inscribed to Freddie by his sister Kashmira and her husband for his birthday, 1975 Frank Frazetta. Fantastic Art, 1975 B.N. Byfield. The Book of the Weird, 1973 Welleran Poltarnees. All Mirrors are Magic Mirrors, 1972 P. Allderiege. The Late Richard Dadd, 1974 David Greysmith. Richard Dadd, 1973 "We don't go in for half measures and I'm very hard with myself. There're no compromises. If I thought a song wasn't quite right, I'd discard it. I'm very intricate and delicate. You can see that in my paintings. I love painters like Richard Dadd, Mucha and Dali, and I love Arthur Rackham." (Freddie Mercury, interview in Melody Maker, December 1974)

View 1 of Lot 1847: Freddie Mercury—personal library | Illustrated books on fantasy and fairytales, 17 volumes

freddie mercury—personal library | illustrated books on fantasy and fairytales, 17 volumes

Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | Crazy Little Things 2

Beveridge Queen concept art, 1975 ink drawing (46 x 30.5cm), signed and dated 1975, paper loss to lower outer corner, marginal tears, horizontal fold mark [with:] photocopy of ink drawing, signed and dated 1975 This concept artwork incorporates the 'Q' logo and the crown with the four band members in the fantasy style that Queen utilised in the early to mid 1970s alongside a central female figure. Accompanying this is a photocopy of another piece of concept art by the same artist, signed 'Beveridge', titled 'The Black Queen holds Aeriel Court'. The style is reminiscent of Richard Dadd's artworks. SPECIAL NOTICE This lot is being sold for private use only. No right to reproduce or otherwise commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property in the lots is included with the sale of lot. Queen Productions Limited and Queen Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights.

View 1 of Lot 2036: Beveridge | Queen concept art, 1975

beveridge | queen concept art, 1975

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.

View 1 of Lot 1817: A collection of games and puzzles

a collection of games and puzzles

Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | On Stage

Freddie Mercury Autograph draft working lyrics of songs for the album Queen II, comprising: i) 'Ogre Battle', partial draft lyric fragments and notes on musical structure, in black ballpoint, 2 pages, on a single leaf of plain notepaper (203 x 127mm) ii) 'The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke', autograph draft lyric fragments, 3 pages, and notes on vocal harmonies, 4 pages, blue and black ballpoint and fibretip, on 4 leaves of different papers ranging in size from foolscap to 197 x 125mm iii) 'Nevermore', autograph draft lyric fragments and notes on vocal harmonies, 4 pages, blue and black ballpoint, on two leaves of lined notepaper (202 x 125mm) iv) 'The March of the Black Queen', extensive autograph draft lyric fragments, 12 pages, detailed notes on vocal harmonies, 7 pages, overdubs, bass lines, and recording notes, 5 pages, on 14 leaves (plus one blank leaf) of different papers ranging in size from foolscap to 197 x 125mm v) 'Funny How Love Is', autograph draft lyrics and vocal harmonies, in blue ballpoint, 3 pages, on 2 leaves of lined notepaper (207 x 130mm) altogether 23 leaves, c.1973 Queen cut their second album at Soho's Trident Studios in August 1973, just a month after the release of their debut. The band had a number of songs in their existing repertoire that had not been recorded for Queen, so not every song was fresh for the album. Freddie Mercury wrote six of the eleven tracks on the album, comprising the entire second side ("side black") of the album, but 'Ogre Battle', 'March of the Black Queen', and 'The Seven Seas of Rhye', all dated back - at least in part - several years. The album's attitude is encapsulated by its working title, "Over The Top", as Queen developed the extravagant multi-layered sound that would characterise their work in the 1970s. This group of manuscripts includes drafts for five of Freddie's six songs on the album (for 'Seven Seas of Rhye see lot 116). These songs are also written into the notebook (lot 104) that Freddie kept at the time, however, so many of the drafts are incomplete, and a large proportion of these manuscripts relate to vocal harmonies and other musical questions that confronted the band in the recording studio. 'The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke' is characteristic of Freddie Mercury's early songs in its use of fantastical imagery. It was explicitly inspired by the extraordinary painting of the same name by Victorian artist Richard Dadd (a fold-out reproduction of which was issued with the album), which was one of his favourite artworks (see also lot 1847). Mercury's lyrics describe the scene depicted in Dadd's unfinished masterpiece, painted while the artist was incarcerated in an asylum. The current manuscripts comprise an early draft of the lyrics and extensive notes on the harmonies. Unsurprisingly, the most extensive drafts in the current lot relate to 'March of the Black Queen'. This song was six and a half minutes long and proved too complex ever to be performed live. In a 1974 interview for Melody Maker, Mercury contrasted his struggles with the song with the ease with which he wrote 'Killer Queen': "Now, March Of The Black Queen, that took ages. I had to give it everything, to be self-indulgent or whatever." Brian May has identified the song as a precursor to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in its unusual and complex musical structure, enigmatic lyrics, and the extensive use of overdubbing in its recording. The current notes include extensive draft lyrics as well as pages of notes on vocal harmonies and other features such as a list of overdubs, making very clear the hard work that went into recording this epic track. The album was released in March 1974 with exceptional cover art by Mick Rock. Characteristically, the album riled many music critics but it was vastly more successful with the record-buying public than their 1973 debut. It reached number 5 in the UK charts and even made some impression on the American charts (peaking at number 49): Queen were on their way to stardom. SPECIAL NOTICE No right to reproduce or commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property or image rights in any lot is included with the sale of the lot (including but not limited to song lyrics, sketches, drawings and garment designs). Queen Productions Limited, Queen Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights. No right to exhibit in public or reproduce this lot is included with the sale of this lot without the prior written consent of Queen Productions Limited, who shall act in good faith to consider any such requests.

View 1 of Lot 115: Freddie Mercury | Autograph manuscripts lyrics of songs for the album Queen II, c.1973

freddie mercury | autograph manuscripts lyrics of songs for the album queen ii, c.1973

Freddie Mercury's white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit

Freddie Mercury's white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit ‘The White Queen’ by Wendy de Smet, worn by Freddie Mercury on stage for the 'Night At The Opera' tour, 1975-1976 a two-piece stage outfit comprising a catsuit and bolero of white [now aged to ivory] stretch satin. The catsuit with deep-cut zip-fastening front from waist to curved stand collar, the long narrow sleeves with partially concealed zips at cuffs - the cuffs and slightly flared trouser legs applied with quilted panels stitched and cut to resemble bird wings, these wrap-around trouser leg panels graduating in width from their apex below the knee to their widest point at the foot, each trouser leg with a stirrup of ribbed webbing at the base, labelled inside at the base of the neck ‘Wendy de Smet’ the label with an orange paper cleaning ticket with typescript date details: ‘Apr 13 77’ attached by a large safety pin. The corresponding quilted bolero tailored to resemble bird wings, the front with curved lines of stitching extending to the open edges to create ten feather-shaped panels either side, eight of which terminate in points. The wing-shaped back of this bolero with a pattern of eight lines of curved stitching – four panels either side simulating the back of wings, labelled inside at base of the neck ‘Wendy de Smet’. The distinctive stitching pattern on the reverse of this bolero distinguishes it as being the second of Freddie’s two bird wing boleros to be made in either December 1975 or January 1976 (qty 2) Freddie had been closely involved in the design of his ‘Mercury Wing’ stage costumes. He had approached Wendy with a pencil sketch of what he wanted, which was based on an idea of a character from Richard Dadd’s intricate masterpiece ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke', the inspiration behind Freddie's song of the same name. Freddie wanted his stage persona to resemble a Mercurial god-like figure and once he and Wendy had worked together on this idea, she was given free rein to design the costume. It was Wendy who suggested adding winged panels to the cuffs and trouser legs, and to balance these out with a wing-shaped bolero (boleros are included in lots 43 and 151). Freddie provided the designer with the high-quality stretch satin fabric she was to use in the construction of these significant stage outfits. Three Mercury Wing catsuits and one winged bolero were made in the autumn of 1975 to coincide with the start of the album tour. A second bolero and a replacement third white catsuit (whose predecessor had shrunk when Freddie sent it to the drycleaners) were made at a later date, either before the end of the UK Tour in December 1975 or before the start of the US Tour in late January 1976. One catsuit (lot 43) has been identified as being worn in the promo video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody', so the replacement catsuit is either this example or lot 151. It seems probable that Freddie wore white leather platform shoes with this outfit (lots 149 and 171). Mercurial White Wing ensembles representing the good ‘White Queen’ were worn for the first half of the show, their evil counterparts the ‘Black Queens’ (lots 45 and 152) for the second half of the show during both the European and US legs of the 1975-76 tour. The visual contrast between black and white was central to Queen's visual image in the early years of their career. It symbolised a struggle between good and evil that was at the core of the fantasy elements of Queen's early lyrics, epitomised by two tracks on the band’s Queen II album, May's 'White Queen' and Mercury's 'March of the Black Queen'. The album itself was divided into 'Side White' (predominantly written by Brian May) and 'Side Black' (all songs by Freddie Mercury) - see lot 115. Freddie and the band’s devotion to this visual juxtaposition continued throughout the 1975 tour, and Freddie’s collaboration with Wendy de Smet meant his spectacular stage costumes were a perfect manifestation of the strong theme. In June 2023 Wendy Edmonds (née de Smet) confirmed her account of how her design for Freddie’s famous ‘Mercury Wing’ costume came about – originally published in 2011 in Queen in Cornwall by Rupert White. In September 1975 Wendy, who had trained as a fashion designer, was asked by Freddie to create His famous outfit the ‘Mercury Suit’: "Freddie wanted to look like the God of Mercury…he bought fabric from Borovick’s in Broadwick Street in London. You could buy stage fabric there. It was a stretch satin, skin tight, with a low neck and a zip. The sleeves were long and tight, and I made little padded wings on the cuff. And the wings on the heels were Velcroed on so they were detachable. They were quilted, like a bird’s wing and attached with Velcro on the front. He had the ideas and we worked on them together… Then I made him a little white bolero which you can also see him wearing in the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video [see lot 43] … I made several [catsuits] three or four of the white ones, but one of them shrank and I had to unpick it….” The wrap-around bird wing adornments on the trouser legs of the three White Queen catsuits in the auction are no longer removable but firmly stitched onto the trouser legs. On seeing the three auction catsuits recently, Wendy de Smet confirmed that the stitching of the leg panels to the trouser legs would have been done by Freddie himself. She suspects that Freddie required a greater security for the attachment that sewing would provide over the Velcro. Freddie had also added the stirrups of ribbed webbing sewn to the foot of each catsuit trouser leg himself. He had studied fashion design at Ealing College for a time and was very hands-on with the construction of his stage costumes. Freddie knew what he wanted and would make any practical amendments or embellishments he felt necessary and could do himself without consultation with the designer. Wendy visited Freddie at his Holland Road apartment for fittings: “Freddie always just wanted them really tight! It was great fun doing the costumes. They had my label ‘Wendy de Smet’ inside. I’ve still got the original newspaper pattern.” This and the two almost identical ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits, and their two ‘Black Queen’ counterparts, are confirmed as being the earliest examples of what was to become Freddie’s signature look in the mid to late 1970s. Photographs of Wendy Edmonds’ original paper pattern for the first quilted bolero (lot 43) show stitching lines for the quilting drawn on to it. The designer commented on the other examples that: “I changed the stitching on the back …but both fronts are the same”. A swatch of the original stretch satin fabric Wendy used to make the white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits and boleros has been donated by the designer to illustrate its original bright white hue and will be present at the auction view. Photographs of the swatch will also be available to view on request. LITERATURE Rupert White, Queen In Cornwall, Antenna Publications, 2022, 2nd Edition, pp.276-277 & photographs of Queen performing in Liverpool the evening after shooting the video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in Elstree Studios, 14 November 1975, showing Freddie wearing the ‘Mercury’ ensemble, illus. pp. 277 & 279 (illus.) Killer Queen, The Official Limited Edition: Mick Rock Photographs, Genesis Publications, 2003, pp.120, 166 and 167 (illus.) Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender, A Life In Pictures, Welbeck, 2012, p.66 (illus.) Phil Sutcliffe with Peter Hince, Mick Rock, Reinhold Mack and Billy Squier, Queen The Ultimate Illustrated History of The Crown Kings of Rock, Voyageur Press, 2009, pp. 70. 84 & 91(illus.) and pp. 102-3 SPECIAL NOTICE No right to reproduce or commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property or image rights in any lot is included with the sale of the lot (including but not limited to song lyrics, sketches, drawings and garment designs). Queen Productions Limited, Queen Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights. No right to exhibit in public or reproduce this lot is included with the sale of this lot without the prior written consent of Queen Productions Limited, who shall act in good faith to consider any such requests.

View 1 of Lot 151: Freddie Mercury's white 'Mercury Wing'  catsuit and bolero, by Wendy de Smet,  1975-76

freddie mercury's white 'mercury wing' catsuit and bolero, by wendy de smet, 1975-76

Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | The Evening Sale

Freddie Mercury's white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit and bolero

Freddie Mercury's white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit and bolero a two-piece stage outfit comprising a catsuit and bolero of white [now aged to ivory] stretch satin by Wendy de Smet, worn in the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' promotional video, 1975, and on stage when touring A Night At The Opera, 1975-1976 The catsuit with deep-cut zip-fastening front from waist to curved stand collar, the long narrow sleeves zipped at the cuffs and embellished with four quilted panels terminating in points to resemble bird feathers (matching the design seen in the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video); the slightly flared trouser legs similarly applied with quilted bird-wing adornments, these wrap-around trouser leg panels graduating in width from their apex below the knee to their widest point at the foot, each trouser leg, with a stirrup of ribbed webbing at the base – it has been confirmed by Wendy de Smet that the stitching of the winged leg panels and the stirrups to the trouser legs was executed by Freddie Mercury himself - the unlabelled catsuit with an orange paper cleaning ticket with typescript date details: ‘Apr 13 77’ attached inside at the base of the neck by a large safety pin; The corresponding quilted bolero tailored to resemble bird wings, the front with curved lines of stitching extending to the open edges to create ten feather-shaped panels either side, nine of which terminate in points; the back shaped as two wings with lines of stitching creating three long panels either side simulating the back of wings, labelled inside at base of the neck ‘Wendy de Smet’ - the stitching on the reverse of the bolero identifies it as the one seen in the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video. (qty 2) Freddie was closely involved in the design of his ‘Mercury Wing’ stage costumes. In September 1975 he approached Wendy de Smet, who had trained as a fashion designer, to create his outfit: “Freddie wanted to look like the God of Mercury…he bought fabric from Borovick’s in Broadwick Street in London. You could buy stage fabric there. It was a stretch satin, skin tight, with a low neck and a zip. The sleeves were long and tight, and I made little padded wing on the cuff. And the wings on the heels were Velcroed on so they were detachable. They were quilted, like a bird’s wing and attached with Velcro on the front. He had the ideas and we worked on them together. I made [...] three or four of the white ones, but one of them shrank and I had to unpick it.” He had approached Wendy de Smet with a pencil sketch of what he wanted, which was based on an idea of a character from Richard Dadd’s intricate masterpiece ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke', the inspiration behind Freddie's song of the same name. Freddie wanted his stage persona to resemble a Mercurial god-like figure and once he and Wendy had worked together on this idea, she was given free rein to design the costume. It was Wendy who suggested adding winged panels to the cuffs and trouser legs, and to balance these out with a wing-shaped bolero (boleros are included in lots 43 and 151). Freddie provided the designer with the high-quality stretch satin fabric she was to use in the construction of these significant stage outfits. Three ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits and one winged bolero were made in the autumn of 1975 to coincide with the start of the album tour. A second bolero and a replacement third white catsuit (either lot 150 or 151, the predecessor having shrunk when Freddie sent it to the drycleaners) were made at a later date, either before the end of the UK Tour in December 1975 or before the start of the US Tour in late January 1976. It seems probable that Freddie wore a pair of white leather platform shoes with this outfit (lot 171). In June 2023 Wendy Edmonds [nee de Smet] confirmed her account of how her design for Freddie’s famous ‘Mercury Wing’ costume came about – originally published in ‘Queen in Cornwall’ by Rupert White, first edition, 2011 The 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video which featured Freddie wearing this ‘Mercury Wing’ ensemble had a profound impact on the future of music industry promotion. As Freddie himself said: “We decided to put 'Rhapsody' on film and let people see it. We didn’t know how it was going to be looked upon or how they were going to receive it. To us it was just another form of theatre. But it just went crazy, and since then everybody’s been doing it…We realised that a video could get to a lot of people in a lot of countries without you actually being there, and you could release a record and a video simultaneously. It became very fast and it helped record sales greatly…” During both the European and US legs of the 1975-76 Queen tour, Mercurial White Wing ensembles representing the good ‘White Queen’ were worn for the first half of the show, their evil counterparts the ‘Black Queens’ (lots 45 and 152) for the second half of the show . The visual contrast between black and white was central to Queen's visual image in the early years of their career. It symbolised a struggle between good and evil that was at the core of the fantasy elements of Queen's early lyrics, epitomised by two tracks on the band’s Queen II album, May's 'White Queen' and Mercury's 'March of the Black Queen'. The album itself was divided into 'Side White' (predominantly written by Brian May) and 'Side Black' (all songs by Freddie Mercury) - see lot 115. Freddie and the band’s devotion to this visual juxtaposition continued throughout the 1975 tour, and Freddie’s collaboration with Wendy de Smet meant his spectacular stage costumes were a perfect manifestation of the strong theme. The wrap-around bird wing adornments on the trouser legs of the three White Queen catsuits in the auction are no longer removable but firmly stitched onto the trouser legs. On seeing the three auction catsuits recently, Wendy de Smet confirmed that the stitching of the leg panels to the trouser legs would have been done by Freddie himself. She suspects that Freddie required a greater security for the attachment that sewing would provide over the Velcro. Freddie had also added the stirrups of ribbed webbing sewn to the foot of each catsuit trouser leg himself. He had studied fashion design at Ealing College for a time and was very hands-on with the construction of his stage costumes. Freddie knew what he wanted and would make any practical amendments or embellishments he felt necessary and could do himself without consultation with the designer. Wendy visited Freddie at his Holland Road apartment for fittings: “Freddie always just wanted them really tight! It was great fun doing the costumes. They had my label ‘Wendy de Smet’ inside. I’ve still got the original newspaper pattern.” This and the two almost identical ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits, and their two ‘Black Queen’ counterparts, are confirmed as being the earliest examples of what was to become Freddie’s signature look in the mid to late 1970s. Photographs of Wendy Edmonds’ original paper pattern for this quilted bolero show stitching lines for the quilting drawn on to it. The designer commented on the other examples that: “I changed the stitching on the back …but both fronts are the same”. A swatch of the original stretch satin fabric Wendy used to make the white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits and boleros has been donated by the designer to illustrate its original bright white hue and will be present at the auction view. Photographs of the swatch will also be available to view on request. The ‘Mercury Wing‘ catsuits were worn on stage both with and without boleros. Freddie is also photographed wearing a ‘Mercury Wing’ bolero with a sleeveless black diamante studded catsuit (lot 162) on stage in January 1977, a combination which also featured on the cover of the U.S. music magazine Creem in May 1977. A swatch of the original stretch satin fabric Wendy used to make the white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits and boleros has been donated by the designer to illustrate its original bright white hue and will be present at the auction view. Photographs of the swatch will also be available to view on request. LITERATURE Rupert White, Queen In Cornwall, Antenna Publications, 2022, 2nd Edition, pp.276-277 & photographs of Queen performing in Liverpool the evening after shooting the video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in Elstree Studios, 14 November 1975, showing Freddie wearing the ‘Mercury’ ensemble, illus. pp. 277 & 279 (illus.) Killer Queen, The Official Limited Edition: Mick Rock Photographs, Genesis Publications, 2003, pp.120, 166 and 167 (illus.) Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender, A Life In Pictures, Welbeck, 2012, p.66 (illus.) Phil Sutcliffe with Peter Hince, Mick Rock, Reinhold Mack and Billy Squier, Queen The Ultimate Illustrated History of The Crown Kings of Rock, Voyageur Press, 2009, pp. 70. 84 & 91(illus.) and pp. 102-3 SPECIAL NOTICE No right to reproduce or commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property or image rights in any lot is included with the sale of the lot (including but not limited to song lyrics, sketches, drawings and garment designs). Queen Productions Limited, Queen Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights. No right to exhibit in public or reproduce this lot is included with the sale of this lot without the prior written consent of Queen Productions Limited, who shall act in good faith to consider any such requests.

View 1 of Lot 43: Freddie Mercury's white 'Mercury Wing' catsuit and bolero by Wendy de Smet, 1975-1976

freddie mercury's white 'mercury wing' catsuit and bolero by wendy de smet, 1975-1976

Freddie Mercury’s Fairy Feller t-shirt A black cotton t-shirt, the front with a printed design in white of the Queen crest, the back with printed white lettering ‘FAIRY FELLER’, with ivory ‘silk’ label printed in black ‘Walt Disney T Shirts by Bamcrest’ stitched to inside seam at back of the neck – it is thought very few T-shirts such as this were made; they were apparently only given to the band and crew members Freddie’s song The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke was inspired by a highly intricate painting of the same name of 1855-1864 by Victorian artist Richard Dadd, housed in the Tate gallery, London, which held a particular resonance for him. When working on the song for the band’s second album, Queen II, Freddie, with his passion for detail, insisted that the band and the record producer Roy Thomas Baker accompany him to the Tate Gallery to study Richard Dadd’s work from which he derived his song. Mary Austin in a recent rare interview with Peter Aspden for the Financial Times [13 May 2023] spoke about how well Mercury could articulate his appreciation of art. “What a great teacher he was!...He took me to the Tate Gallery, he wanted to introduce me to the work of Richard Dadd [the Victorian painter of supernatural themes, who created many of his pictures when he was a patient in homes for the mentally ill]. He told me the complete story behind him, and explained every detail of this very intricate painting, with such expert knowledge” . The painting was The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke. LITERATURE -‘Hammer to fall’ Peter Aspden interview with Mary Austin, FT Weekend, Life & Arts, 13 May 2023, pp.1-2 -‘Queen The Ultimate Illustrated History of The Crown Kings of Rock’ , Phil Sutcliffe with Peter Hince, Mick Rock, Reinhold Mack and Billy Squier; Voyageur Press, 2009 .pp.35-36 -‘Queen The Complete Illustrated Lyrics’, Backbeat Books, 2012, p.73 SPECIAL NOTICE This lot is being sold for private use only. No right to reproduce or otherwise commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property in the lots is included with the sale of lot. Queen Productions Limited and Queen Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights.

View 1 of Lot 2014: Freddie Mercury's Fairy Feller t-shirt, circa 1974

freddie mercury's fairy feller t-shirt, circa 1974

Freddie Mercury's white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit ‘The White Queen’ by Wendy de Smet, worn by Freddie Mercury on stage for the Night At The Opera Tour, 1975-1976 the catsuit with deep-cut zip-fastening front from waist to curved stand collar, the long narrow sleeves zipped at the cuffs and embellished with four quilted panels terminating in points to resemble bird wings; the slightly flared trouser legs similarly applied with quilted bird-wing adornments, these wrap-around trouser leg panels graduating in width from their apex below the knee to their widest point at the foot, each trouser leg with a stirrup of ribbed webbing at the base, labelled inside at the base of the neck ‘Wendy de Smet’ the label with an orange paper cleaning ticket with typescript date details: ‘Apr 13 77’ attached by a large safety pin. Freddie was closely involved in the design of his ‘Mercury Wing’ stage costumes. In September 1975 he approached Wendy de Smet, who had trained as a fashion designer, to create his outfit: “Freddie wanted to look like the God of Mercury…he bought fabric from Borovick’s in Broadwick Street in London. You could buy stage fabric there. It was a stretch satin, skin tight, with a low neck and a zip. The sleeves were long and tight, and I made little padded wing on the cuff. And the wings on the heels were Velcroed on so they were detachable. They were quilted, like a bird’s wing and attached with Velcro on the front. He had the ideas and we worked on them together. I made [...] three or four of the white ones, but one of them shrank and I had to unpick it.” He had approached Wendy de Smet with a pencil sketch of what he wanted, which was based on an idea of a character from Richard Dadd’s intricate masterpiece ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke', the inspiration behind Freddie's song of the same name. Freddie wanted his stage persona to resemble a Mercurial god-like figure and once he and Wendy had worked together on this idea, she was given free rein to design the costume. It was Wendy who suggested adding winged panels to the cuffs and trouser legs, and to balance these out with a wing-shaped bolero (boleros are included in lots 43 and 151). Freddie provided the designer with the high-quality stretch satin fabric she was to use in the construction of these significant stage outfits. Three Mercury Wing catsuits and one winged bolero were made in the autumn of 1975 to coincide with the start of the album tour. A second bolero and a replacement third white catsuit (whose predecessor had shrunk when Freddie sent it to the drycleaners) were made at a later date, either before the end of the UK Tour in December 1975 or before the start of the US Tour in late January 1976. One catsuit (lot 43) has been identified as being worn in the promo video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody', so the replacement catsuit is either this example or lot 151. It seems probable that Freddie wore white leather platform shoes with this outfit (lots 149 and 171). In June 2023 Wendy Edmonds (née de Smet) confirmed her account of how her design for Freddie’s famous ‘Mercury Wing’ costume came about – originally published in 2011 in Queen in Cornwall by Rupert White. Mercurial White Wing ensembles representing the good ‘White Queen’ were worn for the first half of the show, their evil counterparts the ‘Black Queens’ (lots 45 and 152) for the second half of the show during both the European and US legs of the 1975-76 tour. The visual contrast between black and white was central to Queen's visual image in the early years of their career. It symbolised a struggle between good and evil that was at the core of the fantasy elements of Queen's early lyrics, epitomised by two tracks on the band’s Queen II album, May's 'White Queen' and Mercury's 'March of the Black Queen'. The album itself was divided into 'Side White' (predominantly written by Brian May) and 'Side Black' (all songs by Freddie Mercury) - see lot 115. Freddie and the band’s devotion to this visual juxtaposition continued throughout the 1975 tour, and Freddie’s collaboration with Wendy de Smet meant his spectacular stage costumes were a perfect manifestation of the strong theme. The wrap-around bird wing adornments on the trouser legs of the three White Queen catsuits in the auction are no longer removable but firmly stitched onto the trouser legs. On seeing the three auction catsuits recently, Wendy de Smet confirmed that the stitching of the leg panels to the trouser legs would have been done by Freddie himself. She suspects that Freddie required a greater security for the attachment that sewing would provide over the Velcro. Freddie had also added the stirrups of ribbed webbing sewn to the foot of each catsuit trouser leg himself. He had studied fashion design at Ealing College for a time and was very hands-on with the construction of his stage costumes. Freddie knew what he wanted and would make any practical amendments or embellishments he felt necessary and could do himself without consultation with the designer. Wendy visited Freddie at his Holland Road apartment for fittings: “Freddie always just wanted them really tight! It was great fun doing the costumes. They had my label ‘Wendy de Smet’ inside. I’ve still got the original newspaper pattern.” This and the two almost identical ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits, and their two ‘Black Queen’ counterparts, are confirmed as being the earliest examples of what was to become Freddie’s signature look in the mid to late 1970s. Photographs of Wendy Edmonds’ original paper pattern for the first quilted bolero (lot 43) show stitching lines for the quilting drawn on to it. The designer commented on the other examples that: “I changed the stitching on the back …but both fronts are the same”. A swatch of the original stretch satin fabric Wendy used to make the white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuits and boleros has been donated by the designer to illustrate its original bright white hue and will be present at the auction view. Photographs of the swatch will also be available to view on request. LITERATURE Rupert White, Queen In Cornwall, Antenna Publications, 2022, 2nd Edition, pp.276-277 & photographs of Queen performing in Liverpool the evening after shooting the video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in Elstree Studios, 14 November 1975, showing Freddie wearing the ‘Mercury’ ensemble, illus. pp. 277 & 279 (illus.) Killer Queen, The Official Limited Edition: Mick Rock Photographs, Genesis Publications, 2003, pp.120, 166 and 167 (illus.) Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender, A Life In Pictures, Welbeck, 2012, p.66 (illus.) Phil Sutcliffe with Peter Hince, Mick Rock, Reinhold Mack and Billy Squier, Queen The Ultimate Illustrated History of The Crown Kings of Rock, Voyageur Press, 2009, pp. 70. 84 & 91(illus.) and pp. 102-3 SPECIAL NOTICE No right to reproduce or commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property or image rights in any lot is included with the sale of the lot (including but not limited to song lyrics, sketches, drawings and garment designs). Queen Productions Limited, Queen Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights. No right to exhibit in public or reproduce this lot is included with the sale of this lot without the prior written consent of Queen Productions Limited, who shall act in good faith to consider any such requests.

View 1 of Lot 150: Freddie Mercury's white ‘Mercury Wing’ catsuit

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