A pair of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous pair of glasses are all set to be auctioned after spending a weekend sticking halfway out of an auction house’s letterbox. The pair of gold-plated spectacles believed to have been worn by Mahatma Gandhi and presented as a gift in the 1900s have emerged on the UK auction circuit. Auctioneer Andrew Stowe said the eyewear, expected to fetch more than £15,000, was the most important find in the company’s history.
East Bristol Auctions in Hanham, south-west England, said on Sunday that they were pleasantly surprised to find that the spectacles, dropped through their letterbox in an envelope, may have such a rich history behind it. Mahatma Gandhi became synonymous with the iconic round-rimmed Windsor-style glasses, common during the period when he was studying law in England in the late 1800s and 1900s. The lot, titled "Pair of Mahatma Gandhi's Personal Spectacles", forms part of the auctioneers' Military, History and Classic Cars online sale and will go under the hammer on August 21. It has already attracted much interest, including from India.