KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED
She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence. But her beauty - and her vanity - led to her demise as the lead-based make-up she insisted on plastering on daily resulted first in the loss of her looks, then deadly blood poisoning. Now the grand 7ft mirror in which Maria Gunning, the former Countess of Coventry, admired her stunning reflection has been auctioned off for more than £300,000. Labelled the first victim of vanity, Maria died aged 27 in 1760 after her love of make-up resulted in her untimely death. The 253-year-old mirror sold well above its estimate even though her condition meant she the society hostess used it for a matter of just months. A glorious George II giltwood overmantel design, it was bought for her by her husband The Sixth Earl of Coventry in 1759, who is said to have been so frustrated by his wife's love of make up that he would chase her around the dinner table with a handkerchief, trying wipe it from her face.
Other great stories
CALAMITY AIRSTRIP 15 YEARS ON
FIFTEEEN years after it was closed pictures by a British teacher show the calamity Hong Kong airport that was closed for being too dangerous .
WOMAN LOSES 10ST AND DITCHES HUSBAND AFTER 'FAT COW' JIBE
A former size 30 comfort-eater ditched her husband and lost over 10st after he called her a 'fat cow' .
IPAD GAMES FOR KITTIES TURNS THEM INTO PI-CAT-SSO
Is your cat bored? Do his usual playthings simply not do it for him anymore? Not to worry - there's an app for that .
HAVING A HOOT: BABY OWL HAS A CHUCKLE
Something appears to have tickled this baby owl as he seems to be having a real HOOT .
BULLIES MADE MY 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER ANOREXIC
A mum has warned of the dangers of child eating disorders, after her 10-year-old daughter developed anorexia when school bullies branded her ‘FAT’ .
WOMAN SAYS EATING BUBBLES WHILE PREGNANT WAS BETTER THAN SEX
A woman has told how her addiction to eating bath bubbles during her pregnancy was better than SEX .
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BUG KIND
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .
MILLIONS OF SARDINES CREATE A TORNADO WAVE
THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .
FIRST FEMALE JACKASS
FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .
EERIE ABANDONED CHILDREN’S ORPHANAGE
Ornate chandeliers and mahogany panelling give a glimpse into this abandoned building's former glory after it's been left to rot for the past decade .
“HOTDOG” EUROPES BIGGEST CHILLI DOG IS NO WIENER AT 13,000 CALORIES
A restaurant famed for creating the 3lb cheeseburger has unveiled its latest culinary challenge – the largest chilli cheese hotdog in Europe .
SLEEPING BEAUTIES
Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .