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.
Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
A small Indian monkey is seemingly gob-smacked after reading the latest stock market news .
WONDERS of the world have been transformed into their mini-versions in a seven-year round the world adventure .
An American woman whose skin turned silver after using nose drops is warning people of the dangers of medicines containing the metal .
A little boy aged FIVE bravely delivered his newborn brother - then promptly saved his life .
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A woman with a fear of flying claims she was humiliated after an Emirates airline staff member told her she could ‘go to prison for four years’ for possessing diazepam medication .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
MEET the little lion of suburbia with a mane that makes him look like a mini-king of the jungle .
A woman has spent over £11k to get the perfect body after a 9st weight loss left her with excess skin .
Bathers on a New Zealand beach stripped naked and took to the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to shatter the record for the world's largest skinny dip .