A handbag owned by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is expected to fetch around £100, 000 when it goes under the hammer for charity in June.
Thatcher carried the black Asprey purse to state ceremonies and international summits, including meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. For Thatcher her handbag was more than a mere fashion statement. It was a symbol of authority which she used to discipline backbenchers and show other dignitaries that she meant business.
Novelist and former Tory party deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer has organized the Christie’s auction slated for June 27. It will also include other key items including the stopwatch that recorded Roger Bannister’s first four-minute mile, and possessions owned by Michael Parkinson and Lawrence Dallaglio. Proceeds will be donated to charities chosen by each personality. Previously Thatcher has donated personal effects to raise funds for breast cancer care and research, so perhaps this latest donation will benefit this vital cause.
Margaret Thatcher last auctioned a handbag in 2000. A Scottish businessman, a longtime admirer of the former PM’s willpower and drive, paid £100, 000 for a Salvatore Ferragamo accessory she once owned. Given inflation in recent years, perhaps that means we can expect the Asprey bag to fetch an even higher price.
What would you pay to carry this piece of history?
[Source: The Guardian]
[Image Source: Wikipedia Commons]
