Bargains Bidders Bag Houston Memorabilia...for a Song!

Tuesday's event may settle storage debt

Some of Whitney Houston's fans have managed to get a hold of the pop star's belongings for a song! According to People, the singer's Schimmel see-through piano fetched $20,000 at Tuesday's auction in New Jersey. A leather chair called "Whitney's Throne" went for two-grand, while a traveling vanity case, filled with such items as a bottle of Gatorade and a disposable razor, went for $550. Clothes and shoes worn by Houston were also up for bid.

The total profit made at the auction will not be revealed due to pending litigation. New Jersey Superior Court ordered the sale to cover Houston's debts to the storage facility where the memorabilia was kept.

As one might expect at such a distress sale, some real bargains were had. According to Metro Source, the translucent Schimmel piano that typically sells for six figures, went to a slight, middle-aged man in a leather jacket and snakeskin boots who said he preferred to remain anonymous. He handed over a hefty deposit in cash from a crumbled paper bag and said he planned to re-sell the piano.

The Newark Star-Ledger reported yesterday that someone offered up an opening 50-cent bid for sixteen awards given to Houston's now- estranged husband, R&B singer Bobby Brown. Interestingly, two of the plaques weren't his. Inscribed to Tommy Brown, they were awarded to the man who has Bobby's manager in the '80s - his brother. Meir Yadid of nearby Fair Lawn got them for $300. "It's part of history," he said. Maybe Tommy might want them back?

The reasons that necessitated the auction started when Houston's company, Nippy Inc., had stopped paying the bills in 2005. Jeffrey Campisi, a lawyer for the warehouse, won a court order last year to auction off the items.

Just after the sale, Campisi told the Star-Ledger that an initial estimate suggested that proceeds would come close to covering the storage fees and expenses due A.J. Willner Auctions -- perhaps as much as $225,000 total. Any proceeds beyond that go back to Nippy.

"I wish it hadn't gotten to this point," he said. "I would have preferred to receive payment of the amount due."

Pictured: Whitney and Bobby together in better times. (Photo by defamer.com)