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
WOMAN LOSES 10ST AFTER BLOWING £12K STUDENT LOAN ON FOOD

A woman who blew £12k of her student loan on junk food and booze has lost 10st after ditching her unhealthy habits .

BIG FOOT 'JESUS BIRD'

THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .

100K BARONESS THATCHER COLLECTION

WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .

HOUSEWORK-OUT

STEPFORD wives from the 1950's and 60's are performing history's most sexist exercise programme .

I LIKE MY SALMON ROAR!

A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .

DOG SO CLOSE TO DEATH AFTER SWALLOWING NEEDLE

A dog was SOW close to death after she dangerously swallowed a two-inch NEEDLE-Cute Shih Tzu Daisy could have pierced her intestines after eating the long needle and thread after finding it on the carpet .

MUM TOLD GET DOWN GYM FATTY

Sarah Gould, before weight loss Mum told "get down the gym fatty" -A 20 stone woman who was told "get down the gym fatty" on a night out has shed a third of her weight in time for her dream wedding .

EVIL MONSTER KILLED MY DAUGHTER OVER SECRET ABORTION

The mother of a young woman stabbed 26 times by her ex-partner for having a secret abortion has told how her daughter was cruelly betrayed by her own social worker .

THUG WHO BEAT UP SOLDIER JAILED FOR 9 YEARS

N evil mugger who battered a Birmingham old soldier and fled with just £40 has been jailed for nine years .

REAL-LIFE LITTLE BO PEEP AGE 20 DEVOTED TO HER 4 PET SHEEP

Meet the real-life Little Bo Peep - a young woman who spends her days tending to her four pet SHEEP .

CHIPMUNK YOGA

ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .

ADORABLE CHRISTMAS BABIES

WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .