Many of the clothes in the sale were designed by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren

"Historically we've sold very little punk material - but the response to this has been very positive," he said.

The collection belonged to Helen Wellington-Lloyd, a renowned follower of the group and designer of much of their promotional material.

She was a close friend and confidante of Malcolm Maclaren, having met him at Goldsmith's School of Art in 1968, and still remains in touch with him.

"We became friends immediately, probably because we saw ourselves as misfits in society," she recalled.

Shop

The t-shirt has been priced at �2,000 to �3,000, while a copy of the band's withdrawn single God Save The Queen on A&M Records is estimated at �1,800 to �2,200.

Artwork on flyers for Sex Pistols concerts will be up for grabs along with the earliest surviving Sex Pistols poster, which Sotheby's hope will fetch up to �800.

The knickers are expected to fetch more than �1,000

The Sex Pistols are considered the archetypal punk bad boys and leaders of the music wave that overturned the British pop scene in the late 70s and early 80s.

The knickers designed by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren are expected to go for around �1,000 to �1,2000.

They are a good example of the Westwood/McLaren partnership that led to the opening of their shop called Let It Rock in 1971.

Over the years, this revolutionary shop had five names including Sex and Seditionaries.

Jukebox

It was where the Sex Pistols began to take shape, as it provided a hangout for school friends Paul Cook and Steve Jones, who were attempting to form a band.

Many posters were designed by the collection's owner

But it was not until McLaren suggested they recruit Glen Matlock, then an assistant in the shop, that things began to take off.

The addition of band member John Lydon, later known as Rotten, sealed the Pistols' fate. Lydon also spent a great deal of time in the shop and was auditioned in front of the jukebox.