A pair of glasses which had been owned by Mahatma Gandhi were auctioned at the Bristol Auction House after they had found it hanging down a letterbox. It had been sold for £260,000.
“We found them just four weeks ago in our letterbox, left there by a gentleman whose uncle had been given them by Gandhi himself,” East Bristol Auctions wrote on Instagram on Friday. “An incredible result for an incredible item! Thanks to all those who bid.”
Mahatma Gandhi had been known for giving out old or unwanted pairs of glasses to those in need of those or who helped him. This pair of gold plated spectacles had been given to the uncle of the vendor who had found this pair while he had been working in South Africa for British Petroleum.
These glasses had initially been estimated at about £15,000. The auctioneer had nearly fallen off his chair upon hearing the final bid. “It’s a phenomenal result. These glasses represent not only an auction record for us but a find of international historical importance,” he said.