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
ROMANIAN CELEBRATES NEW JOB AS KNIFE THROWER'S ASSISTANT
A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .
BATHING BEAR CUB
A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .
MY SLEEPING BEAUTY NIGHTMARE
MEET the real life sleeping beauty - who snoozed for TWO months when a rare sleep disorder took over her life and turned it into a nightmare .
AIR-MAZING MCDONALD’S – AEROPLANE TRANSFORMED INTO FAST FOOD RESTAURANT
Diners on this aeroplane are never disappointed with their meal, because the decommissioned aircraft is now home to an air-mazing McDonald’s restaurant .
CHEATING COPPERS CAUGHT RED HANDED AT AIRPORT BY SCORNED MISSUS
A scorned woman sparked a punch-up in an airport after she caught her copper boyfriend returning from a romantic holiday with a female police officer .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
CANCER DRUG FIGHT DAD DIES, EVEN AFTER LYING TO GET TREATMENT
A former soldier who bravely took on penny-pinching NHS bosses in his fight against terminal cancer has died, aged 37 .
GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS GANG JAILED FOR 12YRS
A gang whose £1-million supercar scam has echoes of the film Gone In Sixty Seconds has been jailed for a total of 12 years .
GLOWWORMS LIGHT UP TOURIST TRAIL
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .
BABY GIVEN THREE PER CENT CHANCE OF LIFE COMES HOME FOR FIRST TIME
A baby who was given just a three per cent chance of survival at birth has beaten the odds to come home - even though docs told his parents to abort him 12 times .
HARVEY NICKS ADS ARE A WEE BIT TOO MUCH FOR SHOPPERS
High street giant Harvey Nichols has come under fire for a "disgusting" ad campaign that depicts a woman peeing herself .