Museum buys Colin Firth’s ‘famous’ Mr Darcy shirt
The famous shirt worn by Colin Firth in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is coming to Halifax after it was purchased by Bankfield Museum.
The shirt featured as part of an auction of items from the archives of Cosprop, a costume house founded by Oscar-winning designer
John Bright, held at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London.
Calderdale Council’s museums service purchased seven items at the sale, including the famous white shirt, which is worn by Firth in the celebrated lake scene from the production.
The hammer price for the shirt was £20,000, with the buyer's premium at £5,000, taking the total to £25,000, all of which will go to the John Bright Foundation, an arts education charity, offering creative programmes to children and young people.
The shirt was purchased with the museum’s ringfenced Works of Art Fund, which has been built up over the years from generous donations and bequests specifically for the purpose of enhancing the museum collection for residents and visitors.
The museum also purchased the Gentleman Jack outfit worn by Suranne Jones.
This will go alongside the recent costumes and props from the Sally Wainwright show gifted to the council by the production company Lookout Point.
Other items purchased by the museum at the same sale include the yellow pelisse from the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma; two outfits from Downton Abbey; and the King and Queen’s outfits from The King’s Speech – meaning there will soon be two items worn by Colin Firth in the museum collections.
Once received from the auction house, all of the outfits will enter the museum collection where they will be cared for and preserved as part of the existing large textiles collection.
Richard Macfarlane, Calderdale Council’s museum manager, said: “We know the scene wasn’t in the book, but this is a piece of costume history and I’m delighted that thanks to generous donations we’ve been able to bring this item to Calderdale.”