London – The final contents of The Gary Moore collection will come to Bonhams this November, featuring recognisable guitars, stage-clothing, amps and accessories from the musician's personal collection. The Gary Moore Collection: The Final Encore will take place on 20th November with a free exhibition at Bonhams New Bond Street London.

Born in Belfast in 1952, Gary Moore was best known for his million selling album Still got the blues in 1990, and the 1978 hit single Parisienne Walkways. As well as being one of the guitarists in the classic rock band Thin Lizzy, Moore also formed part of the line-up for jazz fusion group Colosseum II and the original Skid Row.

The sale is the last of a series of sales of Moore's collection that have taken place at Bonhams.

Claire Tole-Moir, Head of the Popular Culture department at Bonhams, commented: "Gary Moore didn't just play the guitar — he lived through it. He pushed the boundaries of what the guitar could do, experimenting in numerous styles throughout his illustrious career. It has been a real honour for Bonhams to have offered his collection over the last 10 years, and The Final Encore auction promises to be a worthy tribute to Moore and his legendary collection."

The Gary Moore Estate commented: "Sadly missed by his family, Gary passed away on the 6th February 2011 and it's hard to believe it is almost 14 years ago. We felt now was the time to let others have the use of his wonderful guitar collection and other materials and maybe some of his love and use of these guitars will transfer to the new recipients. It's always hard to let go, but our memories of his brilliance will live on, and we hope this final sale will bring the gift of music to all those who show interest. Happy bidding."

Amongst the sale is a Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar, 1960, which has an estimate of £200,000-300,000. One of Gary's longest-serving instruments, it is probably the second most associated with him, used both in the studio and in live performance.

According to author Tony Bacon, Moore acquired the 1960 'pink' Strat during a shopping trip that Gary and Greg Lake made to Kingston in South London in the early 1980s. Moore recalled the event: "We found it in a shop called John King's...Greg tried it out but he didn't like it because it had a few scratches on it - he likes his guitars to be real immaculate. And I said, well, you're not going to get one like this that is immaculate, they stopped making them in '62 and on most of them the paint's worn off so you can't get that particular colour. I said, if you don't want it, I'll have it, very calmly, trying to control myself! It's great, it's the best Strat I've ever had - it's the best Strat I've ever played, I think."

The guitar was used extensively for his 1982 album, Corridors Of Power, especially on the opening track on Side Two, Intro/End Of The World, featuring vocals by Jack Bruce, and for solo tours 1982/3 onwards. It can be heard on the 1990 Still Got The Blues album, for the tracks Too Tired and Moving On and was used for Gary's appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival that same year. Gary played it at the Fender 50th Anniversary concert at Wembley Arena, September 2004, giving a blistering rendition of Jimi Hendrix's Red House.

This guitar was the subject of an article in Guitarist magazine in December 2016, in which it was stated: "Even though Gary Moore used a wide variety of guitars...it is to the Fiesta Red '61 Stratocaster that many of his fans return, again and again, as both an icon of his artistry on the instrument and a tonal touchstone."

Offered alongside the auction will be Gary Moore's 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar ('Stripe'), which will be available via Private Sale. POA. Known among collectors as 'Stripe', this guitars was purchased by Gary Moore in 1988 from guitarist Phil Harris, who called it "his soulmate in a guitar." Featuring a light sunburst finish with a striking flamed maple top, this instrument became Moore's most recorded guitar, famously used on Still Got The Blues, After The War, Oh Pretty Woman, Walking By Myself, and more. Still Got The Blues gave Gary his highest chart positions, with more than three million sale world-wide and his only Gold album in the USA.

Played extensively in the studio and live until 2006, Moore praised its unusually bright, articulate tone — even comparing it to a Stratocaster. Though never named by Moore himself (he referred to it simply as 'LP2'), 'Stripe' has since become legendary among fans and collectors, and the guitar remains one of the most important instruments of Moore's career.

The sale also includes several Gibson examples including Gary's Gibson Les Paul Standard Electric Guitar, LPR9 Aged Prototype, Peter Green/Gary Moore Model, from 2010. This guitar was delivered to Gary in time for use on the 2010 'rock' tour and was played for the encore song, Parisienne Walkways. The original Gibson pickups were replaced with a set of Bare Knuckles PG Blues as Gary preferred them to the 'out of phase' Gibsons. He thought they were a little closer to the sound of the ex-Peter Green '59 Les Paul Standard ('Greeny') that Gary had once owned. This prototype was the last guitar Gary would play live in front of an audience, in the Kremlin Palace, Moscow, 30th October 2010. It is estimated at £60,000-80,000

Other highlights of the sale include:

• Gary Moore: A Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar, 1963. Estimate £12,000-18,000

• Gary Moore: A Gibson ES-355TD Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitar, 1960. Estimate: £15,000-20,000

• Gary Moore: A Gibson SG Les Paul Electric Guitar, 1962/3. Estimate: £10,000-15,000

• Gary Moore: A Marshall 1962, JTM Mk. IV Combo Amplifier, 1966/7. Estimate: £8,000-10,000.

• Gary Moore: George Harrison's Handwritten Lyrics To 'That Kind Of Woman', 1989. Estimate: £4,000-6,000.