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Hugh Hefner’s trademark red smoking jacket, black pyjamas to hit auction block

Hugh Hefner in cap and shades
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Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s trademark black silk pyjamas and red smoking jacket are going up for sale as part of an auction of his belongings, including his complete set of Playboy magazines.

Julien’s Auctions said 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, manual typewriter and Playboy Club membership card.

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 November 30 – December 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 legalization of medical marijuana.

“I think it was very revealing of my father that when he died he left to his foundation all of his personal memorabilia as well as his right of publicity and that is what’s going to allow this auction to benefit the ongoing work of the foundation,” his daughter, Christie Hefner, said.

The dozens of items up for sale include one of Hefner’s signature pipes estimated to sell for $2 000 to $3 000, his personal copy of the first, 1953 issue of Playboy with Marilyn Monroe on the cover $3 000 to $5 000, a 1946 Wurlitzer jukebox with 24 original albums $10 000 to $20 000, and a 2007 limited edition set of 48 Playboy prints $20 000 to $30 000.

Hefner’s pajamas and smoking jacket, which became a symbol of his Playboy mansion parties in Los Angeles, are expected to fetch up to $2 000 and $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 criticized by feminists, closed in 1991, but a New York venue reopened in September, complete with women waitresses wearing corsets, fluffy tails and rabbit ears.

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