Wacko Jacko's wunderkammer for sale

In April, Julien's Auctions will sell off 2,000 curiosities belonging to Michael Jackson. I would be delighted to own this robotic Michael Jackson head from his 1988 "Moonwalker" film. From E! Online:

Among the choicer oddities up for grabs: The razor-handed gloves Johnny Depp sported in Edward Scissorhands ($4,000-$6,000); a golf cart complete with Peter Pan-emblazoned cushions and, the pièce de résistance, an image of Jacko-as-Pan on the hood, ($4,000-$6,000); a basketball signed by Michael Jordan ($800-$1,200); an original canvas painting by pal Macaulay Culkin (a steal at $200-$300); and potentially oddest of all–a particularly tall order given its company–a vintage sepia photograph of Roddy McDowall inscribed, "To Estelle, In appreciation for all the lovely things you have done for me."

A Peek Inside Michael Jackson's Cabinet of Curiosities (E! Online), Michael Jackson Items for Sale gallery (Time.com) The Collection of Michael Jackson (Julien's Auctions)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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BastardNamban

Wow, then he actually went out and bought it in one of those places? I thought he paid to have it made that way, someone as rich as him.

I guess even the rich can be tastelessly frugal?
Chris S

JayeRandom nailed it…

“Here, on a plain pedestal of glass, rests an ornate bust, platinum and cloisonne, studded with lapis and pearl.”

…

“This thing’s a ceremonial terminal, sort of.”
caldrax

he was not at all frugal
the same documentary was pointing out how he would just point at random things in places and have them bought, yet he was spiraling into horrible debt, if i recall it correctly (it was a barbara walters thing, or something like that, yes?) … he was neither frugal nor actually rich, when it came to that, he thought he had an immense amount of money and he was hemorrhaging it without regard for what he was buying, the quality, the design, or anything besides whether he thought it was a neat toy in that instant.
thehoundoflove

Dang, only 15 comments on this one so far? I figured this would be a goldmine for sassy comments and MJ jokes… not to mention most of this stuff is beyond BADASS.

The more I think about it, the more surreal this all seems. This dude was huge^âˆž. You can buy his glove, his Peter Pan book? That ‘cultural icons with glasses and gloves’ painting would be well worth 600 bucks to me. Heck, I paid about that much for a ‘decent’ guitar back in the day. Should have saved my money, just in case…

Dammit, I think I am just now realizing that not only was MJ my childhood hero, but he might STILL be…

Uh oh.
matt_w

that electric go kart thing is creepy as fuck son.
robulus

Ooh ooh ooh! Robots of Death, Doctor Who, 1975!

http://www.scifimoviepage.com/dvd/drwho3.jpg
saint_al

Anyone catch the fact that Jacko is offering autographed/numbered copies of the Julien’s 5-catalog box set for $500 each? Seems like a better and more telling morbid curio than some crappy figurine.

http://www.juliensauctions.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=58

Quite a bit like the movie “Citizen Kane” and the Xanadu estate… only if Charles Foster Kane didn’t die but just lost it all anyway.
Matt Volatile

Wow. Some of his furniture is INCREDIBLE – and with a hugely low reserve! Who’d want a new sofa when you can bid on Michael Jackson’s gorgeous ornate carved parlor suite (Item 223) at an estimate of $800!! Or an Ikea umbrella stand when you can bid on MJ’s quirky brass one?!

I’m sure the things like the glove will sell, but it’s the furniture where the bargains are to be had. If I had a pad in LA, I’d be down to that auction with my credit card burning a hole in my pocket.
Brainspore

The removable nose on the robot is a nice touch of realism, but that hair doesn’t look very flammable.
Sijay

Reminds me of Dot Matrix from Spaceballs.
blueelm

Holy crud. Some of that stuff is great.
Alex_M

$50-$100 for a first edition “Peter Pan”? Sounds a bit low, even if the condition is slightly worn. (Those early 20th century clothbounds don’t age well)

Seems to me it’d be worth more than that on provenance alone. Although I’m guessing Wacko Jacko isn’t the type to have an ex-libris. Or even read much.
David Pescovitz

I thought the prices overall seemed surprisingly low too! Maybe the auction house does that to get people bidding and caught up in a frenzy.
bbonyx

Mordred.

/Who’ll be the reference prize winner to come on down?!?!?
JayeRandom

“The Villa Straylight,” said a jeweled thing on the pedestal, in a voice like music, “is a body grown in upon itself, a Gothic folly. Each space in Straylight is in some way secret, this endless series of chambers linked by passages, by stairwells vaulted like intestines, where the eye is trapped in narrow curves, carried past ornate screens, empty alcoves…”

“Essay of 3Jane’s,” the Finn said, producing his Partagas. “Wrote that when she was twelve. Semiotics course.”
Boba Fett Diop

Knowing some of Jacko’s proclivities, that “slightly worn” edition of Peter Pan may have a few pages stuck together.
BastardNamban

Is it just me, or did looking through all the furniture and “art” leave you feeling like you wandered into a pack-rat grandparent’s summer house, full of old and gaudy knick-knacks and tasteless accents?

A bit of it is really nice stuff- I spotted a beautiful rolltop desk in there, but the mounted modern cheap fantasy cutlery? The kind of stuff you buy off of the TV at 3 am? Come on. I’m really suprized at Jacko’s taste. A lot of it it trying to be Baroque, but stuff people in Baroque times would rech at. Its like he tried hard to be really, really tasteless. I’ll take that desk, though.
PrettyBoyTim

I remember thinking that head from moonwalker was soooo cool.

I also though it was CGI… *ahem*
FoetusNail

He must be financially screwed to be selling now.
David Pescovitz

BASTARDNAMBAN@9, Totally. I remember that documentary from a few years ago that showed Jacko in Vegas buying an insane amount of gaudy faux-”Baroque” furniture at one of those antique repro shops.