Chance to bag yourself an essential piece of Iron Lady history
People will have the change to bag a slice of true British history when one of Margaret Thatcher's handbags is auctioned.
Halls in Shrewsbury will be offering the grey Chaumet evening bag in its Fine Art, Antiques and Jewellery Sale on March 22.
The former Conservative Prime Minister was synonymous with the handbag – often described as "her weapon", and was rarely seen without one.
The Iron Lady described it as the only 'leak proof' place in Downing Street, while the term 'handbagging' entered the vocabulary as a playful description of the dressing down that Baroness Thatcher would mete out to political opponents and ministers who failed to live up to expectations.
Alexander Clement, a senior valuer at Halls, described the bag, which features a cabochon sapphire set into the clasp, as "extraordinary".
The bag was sold in a 2015 auction, going for £6,800.
Mr Clement said bags owned by the Baroness had come to the market since – and had sold for considerably more.
He explained how the current vendor had come into possession of the item.
He said: "The story is in 2015 Christie's held an auction of the property of Baroness Thatcher. The sale included handbags, full outfits, jewellery, one of her despatch boxes, and the Daily Mail newspaper bought five of her handbags and three of her head-scarves.
"They spent about £50,000 on this with the intention of allowing readers to enter a competition to win them.
"Our vendor entered the competition and won this handbag."
Mr Clement said that the box for the bag includes Baroness Thatcher's own handwritten note saying 'grey dress bag' – an indication of how the former prime minister might have organised her own accessories.
Mr Clement said: "It is a really lovely little touch and a really lovely bonus to have that there because it is obviously one she used, perhaps sparingly because it is quite a glitzy evening bag, quite a lovely thing, not something that would be taken out daily, but it is fascinating to get a little insight into the world of Margaret Thatcher.
He added: "We are putting £4,000 to £6,000 on it which is the same as the estimate when it was originally auctioned by Christie's.
"The hammer price on that occasion was £6,800. Since then one or two other handbags have come onto the market by other means and have made significantly more than that so we are hoping the hammer result will be above the estimate."
