Margaret Thatcher’s speech-writing desk comes up for sale at Sloane Street Auctions on November 29
Over a dozen lots owned by former PM, including designer coat worn to private Downing Street meeting with David Cameron
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, November 19, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The desk on which Margaret Thatcher planned her 1979 General Election victory is up for sale at Sloane Street Auctions in London on November 29.Part of a consignment of furniture and other lots once owned by the former prime minister, it provides a unique opportunity to acquire an iconic piece linked to one of the most significant British politicians of the 20th century.
The Thatcher family bought the desk in the 1960s for their home in Kent, The Dormers. It then moved with them to 19 Flood Street in the early ’70s and was kept in the front room. Mrs Thatcher used it to make notes for her many speeches, most notably during the years 1975-79 during her time as Leader of the Opposition and her triumphant campaign to become the UK’s first woman prime minister. It then moved with the family to Chester Square in 1991, where it remained. The 54-inch wide antique five-drawer mahogany desk is expected to sell for £1,000-2,000.
Also for sale is a blue coat by designer Tomasz Starzewski that Baroness Thatcher wore for a private Downing Street visit with then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010. A photograph1 of her waving to reporters with Cameron in front of the door of number 10 shows her wearing it.
The coat is being offered with a matching ensemble. Tomasz Starzewski also designed outfits for Princess Diana, Queen Camilla, and the Duchess of Edinburgh, as well as designing the wedding dress for Victoria Lockwood for her marriage to Viscount Althorp, Princess Diana’s brother, in 1989. The estimate is £800-1,200.
Other Thatcher-related lots include a George III-style camelback sofa upholstered in pale blue silk, that was part of the 10 Downing Street furniture during the Thatcher premiership from 1979 to 1990, estimated at £1,000-2,000.
A mahogany cutlery canteen, with handwritten label inscribed by Baroness Thatcher, has a guide of £400-600, while presentation silver and gold includes four gold sovereigns presented to Baroness Thatcher by British Petroleum plc Baku, Azerbaijan, on 7 September 1992 (est. £3,000-5,000).
“These items are imbued with the spirit of the times and helped form the backdrop of some of the most historic moments in our nation’s political history of the past 50 years,” said Sloane Street Auctions’ owner Daniel Hunt.
“This is exactly the range and quality of items that used to be offered by Christie’s South Kensington before it closed, and we are happy to don that mantle. Indeed, not only have several of our clients already pointed that out, but we are also delighted to work with Hugh Edmeades, Christie’s South Kensington’s former chairman, as our auctioneer on the rostrum.”
Live online bidding is available via Sloane Street Auctions’ website at www.sloanestreetauctions.com3
For further information contact info@lucasfieldmedia.com Tel 07968 952850
The auction is now on view
Images courtesy of Sloane Street Auctions
Captions
Desk
The antique desk on which Mrs Thatcher planned her victorious 1979 General Election campaign. The estimate is £1,000-2,000.
Coat
The coat by designer Tomasz Starzewski that Baroness Thatcher wore for a private Downing Street visit with then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010. The estimate is £800-1,200.
Sofa
The George III-style camelback sofa upholstered in pale blue silk, that was part of the 10 Downing Street furniture during the Thatcher premiership from 1979 to 1990. The estimate is £1,000-2,000.
Sovereigns
The case of four presentation sovereigns. The guide is £3,000-5,000.
Canteen
The Canteen of cutlery with Baroness Thatcher’s handwritten label. £400-600.
Please find high res images here: https://we.tl/t-Nk4IC2gEwG2
About Sloane Street Auctions
Sloane Street Auctions was founded by Mr Daniel Hunt after spending over 30 years as a high-profile gallery owner and dealer, based at his galleries in Lower Sloane Street, London. Daniel Hunt’s intimate knowledge of the upper tiers of the art and antique sectors throughout millennia, from BC to 2022, provides Sloane Street Auctions with unprecedented access to private collections worldwide and the best of access to specific expertise.
Sloane Street Auctions’ primary objective is to work with both our buyers and sellers to provide the art market access to the rarest objects and art - from Classical Antiquities, Icons and Old Masters, right through to the YBAs and beyond.
Sloane Street Auctions takes great pleasure in dealing with people. We aim to provide a seamless and pleasant service, whether buying or selling. Our vision is to unearth the world’s greatest treasures and to match them with the world’s greatest collectors, whether an occasional buyer or a seasoned connoisseur. Sloane Street Auctions prides itself in providing the highest level of client service and discretion.
With Daniel’s contacts spanning over 40 countries worldwide, accumulated over a lifetime in the industry, Sloane Street Auctions empowers our community of connoisseurs and collectors to acquire and consign the greatest of fine art and objects at a highly competitive rate.
With Daniel Hunt’s expertise in curating some of the most renowned private collections worldwide, Sloane Street Auctions has the ability to source a wide variety of extraordinary pieces. Sloane Street Auctions’ concentrates on, but is not limited to, Old Master Drawings and Paintings, European Furniture and Works of Art, Impressionist Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, Photography and Private Sales.
Julia Macquisten
Lucas Field Media
+44 7968952850
info@lucasfieldmedia.com
1 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/jun/08/lady-thatcher-david-cameron-downing-street
2 https://we.tl/t-Nk4IC2gEwG
3 http://www.sloanestreetauctions.com/
