Fans of the late Michael Jackson will have the opportunity to acquire one of his bejewelled white gloves at auction in Melbourne on Sunday. Bonhams & Goodman have announced that the glove will be included in the forthcoming Collectables auction on Sunday 6 September at 2pm and expects a huge response from collectors of vintage rock memorabilia.
The glove was consigned by the mother of Bill Hibble, now deceased, who was a keen collector of music and film memorabilia. On 15 November 1996 Hibble and his friend, music journalist Peter Holmes, attended the Australian premiere for the movie ‘Ghosts’ starring Michael Jackson. The event was held at George Street Cinema centre in Sydney. Jackson was in town for the HIStory World Tour and had married his second wife Debbie Rowe earlier that day. Unexpectedly, he appeared at the premiere with an entourage and sat in a reserved section of the theatre close to where Hibble and Holmes were seated. The short horror musical features some moments of slapstick comedy which apparently were not well received by the audience. Holmes recalls that he and Bill were among the few to laugh at the jokes. At the end of the screening, as Jackson was leaving, he turned and threw the glove to Hibble.
Estimated to fetch between $20,000 – 30,000 and potentially much more at auction, the custom-made white spandex right-hand glove is covered with hand sewn Swarovski crystals.
Michael Jackson started wearing a glove in the 1970s but it was not until the release of the album ‘Thriller’ in 1983 that it really came to prominence. Later that year Michael re-united with his brothers for a Jackson 5 medley in a one-off NBC television special, ‘Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever’. The show also featured an incredible solo performance by Jackson of the song ‘Billie Jean’. In a career defining moment, he donned a black fedora and white glove and transfixed millions performing the ‘Moonwalk’ dance move for the first time.
‘This is an iconic piece of Pop Culture associated with one of the greatest entertainers of all time. The single white glove was Michael Jackson’s trademark and they rarely appear at auction, indeed one has never surfaced in Australia before. We anticipate there will be a great deal of interest from collectors around the globe’ said Giles Moon, National Head of Collectables, Bonhams & Goodman.
