Christie’s Is Selling Property From the Collection of Margaret Thatcher

In December, Christie’s in London will hold two auctions–a flagship, 150-lot sale on December 15, and an online-only sale that will run from December 3 to 16–consisting of property once owned by the Iron Lady herself, under the umbrella “Mrs Thatcher: Property from the Collection of The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, LG, OM, FRS.”

The auction is divided into several categories, like “Becoming Mrs. Thatcher,” which includes her midnight-blue velvet (!) wedding dress; “The Prime Minister,” featuring objects from her eleven years in office, including her “red leather Prime Ministerial Dispatch Box”; and “Power Dressing and Handbagging,” a series of outfits and handbags. Handbagging, as Christie’s points out, is a verb coined to describe Thatcher’s style in cabinet meetings. The OED defines it as to “verbally attack or crush (a person or idea) ruthlessly and forcefully.”