Who knew Maggie had a kaftan?
THATCHER’S TREASURES ON SALE
Twenty-five years have passed since her tearful eviction from Downing Street. But her standing as a titan in world politics remains undiminished. And last night, the race was underway to buy a piece of Margaret thatcher’s life — ranging from a £180,000 diamond and emerald necklace to her anorak.
following last month’s announcement that the thatcher family were planning to sell her possessions in a double-auction at Christie’s, the process began in earnest yesterday.
More than 200 lots — dresses, shoes, books, jewellery, old Christmas cards, pots and pans — went on sale late in the afternoon in an online auction that lasts until December 16. it even includes a pair of north African kaftans — who would have had Mrs t down as a closet hippy? — and three pairs of shoes (guide price: £150 for the lot).
within minutes of the launch, preliminary bids were pouring in. next week hundreds of other items will go on public display at Christie’s ahead of a traditional auction on December 15. the catalogue for that sale was also published yesterday.
As well as the thirties necklace by french jeweller Joseph Chaumet, the sale promises items for those on lower budgets — such as a menu from a lunch with President Mitterrand (£100) — and more surprises. the iron Lady’s old sewing box (£1,200) not only contains a falklands thimble but, rather delightfully, a free sewing kit which has clearly been lifted from new york’s famous waldorf Astoria hotel (i hope she took the shower cap and shampoo, too).
Christie’s say that both sales are expected to generate around £500,000, although insiders expect the final total to be far higher. A recent sale of art and artefacts belonging to winston Churchill’s daughter, Lady Soames, fetched £15 million — many times the expected price.
Certainly, it seems inconceivable that Margaret thatcher’s Downing Street red box, embossed with ‘Prime Minister’, will not exceed its £3,000 to £5,000 estimate.
it is worth noting that the title of the sale is simply: ‘Mrs thatcher’. Although later elevated to the Lords as Baroness thatcher of Kesteven, she strode the world stage as a commoner.
inevitably, it is her outfits that will attract most attention. As her former private secretary Lord Powell writes in the foreword to the catalogue, they were her ‘guilty secret’. He points out: ‘She loved clothes, and enjoyed talking about them and selecting them.’
the main sale will, for example, include the Aquascutum burgundy wool twill suit that she was wearing as she left Downing Street for the last time (estimate £5,000-£10,000). Other highlights include the royal blue Aquascutum suit worn for her immortal ‘no! no! no!’ House of Commons speech rejecting monetary union in 1990 (£3,000-£5,000).
what winston Churchill did for the cigar, Mrs thatcher did for the handbag. thanks to her, it entered the dictionary as a verb. there are several fine examples in both sales, with low estimates starting at around £600.
Looking at so many emblematic reminders of a momentous era, it seems all the more myopic and mean-spirited of the victoria & Albert Museum to have rejected an offer of Lady thatcher’s outfits and accessories. the museum had snootily deemed them to be of insufficient merit or importance, only to backtrack later and say that it might like some after all. it will now have to join the queue. And it’s likely to be a long one.
It could be yours for £400 in the great Iron Lady auction