Margaret Thatcher's desk sells for 30 times its estimate
Timothy Sigsworth
December 6, 2024 at 3:13 PM
Margaret Thatcher's private writing desk has sold for 30 times its estimate after it sparked a bidding war at auction.
The antique five-drawer mahogany desk was in the front room of her townhouse in Flood Street, Chelsea, London, in the 1970s.
The desk was given a pre-sale estimate of £2,000 but such was the level of interest that it sold for £60,000 - 30 times the estimate.
There were 20 domestic and international bidders after it who drove up the price.
When the hammer came down there was a round of applause in the Sloane Street Auctions London saleroom.
With auctioneers fees included, the undisclosed international online buyer handed over £75,000 for it.
It was the top performer in a collection of 39 lots sold by the Thatcher family which fetched £300,000 all together.
Thatcher wrote many speeches on the desk while leader of the opposition between 1975 and 1979 as she prepared for government.
The 30ins by 54ins by 32ins desk, with a dark red leather and gilt inset top, was bought by the former prime minister and her husband, Denis, in the 1960s when they lived at their home in Kent, The Dormers. It went with them to Flood Street in 1967, which the Thatchers owned until 1985.
The desk remained in her private residences throughout her lifetime, including Chester Square, Belgravia.
The Thatcher family put it on the market as they are moving house.
Of other items up for auction, her Tomasz Starzewski powder blue 1980s ensemble - comprising a coat and matching dress - went for £1,500, while her pale blue silk George II style camelback sofa from Downing Street achieved £6,875.
Of the desk, Dan Hunt, founder of Sloane Street Auctions, said: "It was very exciting. There were 20 bidders, both British and international, after [it] and the price kept going up and up.
"There was a round of applause in the packed saleroom of 100 people afterwards. I believe the desk captured the imagination because of its history, the fact that she had written her speeches whilst in opposition and in power.
"She was one of the great 20th century orators and this desk remained in her private residences. The family sold it now alongside other mementos from her collection as they are moving house."
Thatcher, who was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, died aged 87 in 2013. Her husband died in 2003 aged 88.
The auctioneers are holding part two of the Thatcher sale in January.
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