Gandhi's glasses sell for more than a quarter of a million pounds at auction in Bristol
A pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s glasses has sold for £260,000 at auction in Bristol.
The precious pair was lucky to survive. It had been hanging half out of the letterbox over the weekend at East Bristol Auctions before it was found on the Monday morning. The owner had stuffed the specs in an envelope with a note saying, "these glasses belong to Gandhi, give me a call at your earliest convenience".
The 'spectacular' find was valued at £15,000 but made more than 17 times that when it went under the hammer in an online auction on 21 August 2020.
The early 20th century gold-plated circular-rimmed glasses owned and worn by the civil rights leader were given by him as a gift to the vendor’s uncle when they were both in South Africa. It is thought they were a thank you for an act of kindness.
The auction house’s description states: “The spectacles formed an important and somewhat iconic part of Gandhi's overall appearance. It was known that he would often give away his old or unwanted pairs to those in need or those who had helped him.”
Andrew Stowe from East Bristol Auctions says that the seller was very surprised when he told him he had valued the specs at £15,000.
"Now the vendor I think nearly fell off of his chair when I told him what they were worth.
"He assumed that they were largely worthless or certainly something that was interesting rather than valuable.
"So it is this great kind of discovery along with a nice story attached to it as well."
How must he have reacted when he found out they made more than a quarter of a million pounds?