Hefner’s trademark black pyjamas to hit auction block

LOS ANGELES: Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s trademark black silk pyjamas and red smoking jacket (pictured) are going up for sale as part of an auction of his belongings, including his complete set of Playboy magazines.

Julien’s Auctions said on Friday the sale would also include Hefner’s white captain’s hat, a custom 1974 Monopoly board game including a Playboy bunny playing piece, his Playboy bunny logo cufflinks, 2016 passport and his Bible.

Hefner, who helped usher in the 1960s sexual revolution with his magazine and nightclubs, died in September 2017 at age 91. He left his property to his foundation, which is putting some of the items up for sale.

All the proceeds from the Nov 30-Dec. 1 auction in Los Angeles will go to Hefner’s foundation, which was set up in 1964 to advocate for civil liberties, including LGBT rights and the legalisation of medical marijuana.

“My father lived an extraordinary life as a publishing, social and cultural pioneer and left a legacy that his foundations will perpetuate,” his daughter, Christie Hefner, said in a statement. The dozens of items up for sale include one of Hefner’s signature pipes (estimated to sell for RM8,310 to RM12,460), his personal copy of the first, 1953 issue of Playboy with Marilyn Monroe on the cover (RM12,460 to RM20,800), a 1946 Wurlitzer jukebox with 24 original albums (US$10,000 to US$20,000), and a 2007 limited edition set of 48 Playboy prints (US$20,000 to US$30,000). Hefner’s pyjamas and smoking jacket, which became a symbol of his Playboy mansion parties in Los Angeles, are expected to fetch up to US$2,000 and US$5,000 respectively. In 2016, Playboy magazine did away with full frontal nudity, but that policy was reversed a year later. The Playboy Clubs, heavily criticised by feminists, closed in 1991, but a New York venue reopened in September, complete with women waitresses wearing corsets, fluffy tails and rabbit ears. — Reuters