MJ’s ‘never-before-seen’ family photo album goes up for auction

London: A never-before-seen family photo album of Michael Jackson has been put on the market for sale.

Taken in the 1970s, the snaps are of relatives and friends - most unknown to the public. Bound in a nondescript cover, it looks just like any other family album, but it provides a unique insight into pop star’s most famous clan, the Daily Mail reported. It was one of a massive collection of items Jackson placed into storage in the 1990s. But they were repossessed shortly before his 2009 death because he could not afford to pay the 60,000 pounds release fee. A private collector based in Britain bought the album and is now selling it at WH Peacocks auctioneers in Bedford, Bedfordshire, next month. The sale has already attracted huge interest in the U.S. and auction houses believe the lot will well exceed its base price of just 3,000 pounds. While some of the images clearly show Jackson, the subjects in some of the other shots are less identifiable. The auctioneers admit that, without a member of the Jackson family themselves pointing out who everyone was, be they relatives or friends, it is difficult to identify many individuals. A spokesman for the auction house admitted he had never seen anything like this before. “We have kept the sale value low, because so many people still have Michael Jackson memorabilia, but no one has anything like this,” John Lewis said. “I deal with rock and pop memorabilia and items every day and you just don’t see something as intimate as this coming up for auction, from Michael Jackson or anyone for that matter. “It’s a family album, just like anyone one of us may have. There are little Polaroids, small prints and regular photographs – it’s just that in these photos is a global megastar. “We have already had a lot of interest from the U.S. but we’re expecting interest from all over the world. “It is intriguing to look at these photos and guess who is in them, obviously we all look a look different when we’re younger so it’s fun to guess who is who. “I suppose the real people who’ll know who all the people are in the album are the Jackson family themselves,” he added. The seller - who wishes to remain anonymous - picked up the album from private collectors in the U.S. ANI