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
GIRL GROWS BACK FACE AFTER ONE IN MILLION ALLERGIC REACTION

A teenage girl has grown back her entire face after being struck down by a rare skin disease .

MAGNIFICENT SNOWY OWL

An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .

HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE? COUPLE TIE THE KNOT UNDERWATER

A diving mad couple have finally taken the plunge, having tied the knot 30ft underwater .

GIRL NICKNAMED JAWS BITES BACK AFTER SURGERY

A GIRL nicknamed JAWS by bullies who taunted her because of her underbite is em-bracing her new post-surgery life .

TERRIFIED TEACHER TALKED MURDERER OUT OF STRANGLING HER

A teacher has told how she was attacked by a murderer on her way home from a night out but courageously managed to charm him out of strangling her .

WOMAN NEARLY DIED AFTER PNEUMONIA TURNED INTO SEPSIS – HER LUNGS COLLAPSED AND HER LIPS TURNED BLUE

A woman has revealed how she almost died after she developed sepsis from a cold .

ANGRY GIRAFFE DESTROYS BIKE

AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .

LIFE ON THE LINE: SLUM LIES NEXT TO ACTIVE RAILWAY

Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .

250 DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR STREET RACING IN BIRMINGHAM

THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS - 250 DRIVERS ARRESTED FOR STREET RACING IN BIRMINGHAM- In Pic - The start line on the Heartlands Parkway Nechels Birmingham .

FIRE BREATHING FIAT 500

AN ITALIAN mechanic has created the world’s most ferocious mini-car .

WOMAN'S LIFE-CHANGING OP AFTER THREE BOTCHED NOSE JOBS

A woman who had three botched nose jobs finally feels pretty after forking out £8 .

STRIKING IMAGES RECREATE WORLD WAR II

Primed and ready for action, this collection of striking images from the battlefield could be mistaken for authentic photos taking during World War II .