NEW YORK --- Christie's auction house in Manhattan spent Wednesday afternoon putting the final touches on 329 of James Brown's personal possessions.

The collection goes up for bid today at 10 a.m. with a childhood photograph of Mr. Brown starting at $500. After a break for lunch, bidding will resume about 2 p.m. until all the pieces have been sold.

The most expensive piece in the collection, starting at $20,000, is a customized organ and speaker cabinet with the embroidered letters "JB" and "Godfather" on each piece.

Mr. Brown's collection was closed to the public at 2 p.m. Wednesday so it could be prepared for the auction. Pedestrians hustled in from the street to catch a glimpse of the pieces in the collection, such as Mr. Brown's hair spray bottles. Some people were surprised at how much of the collection you could touch and hold.

Sara Fox, a spokeswoman for Christie's, said the collection has drawn interest from people of all age groups from across the globe.

The BBC was at the auction filming a special piece to air on its international broadcast.

Several museums, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, have expressed interest in the collection.

"We have just seen all kinds of interest in this collection," Ms. Fox said. "Everyone knows who Mr. Brown was."

The auction is open to the public and you can bid in person at 20 Rockefeller Center, online if you registered by Tuesday or live over the phone.

It is not known who is expected to attend, but Ms. Fox said the auction would draw an interesting mix of people. Several parties already have placed pre-bids that will not be announced until the amount is reached in the auction.

Trustees of Mr. Brown's estate hope to bring in about $200,000 to help pay on the estate's debt, which is about $400,000.

On Monday, a South Carolina Court of Appeals judge said the auction could go forward after Albert H. Dallas and Alfred A. Bradley, two of Mr. Brown's former managers, said it should be stopped until the court battle over control of the estate was settled.