Margaret Thatcher's prime ministerial dispatch box has sold for ?�242,500 ($367,388).
The lot was among the highlights of a dedicated sale of memorabilia from across her life and career.
 Margaret Thatcher used the dispatch box between 1979 and 1990 |
It beat an estimate of $5,000 by an impressive 4,750% at Christie's yesterday.
Christie's comments: "Embossed with the Royal Cypher and the title 'Prime Minister', this dispatch box would have been amongst those delivered to Mrs. Thatcher on a daily basis containing a wealth of Cabinet, Foreign and Commonwealth documents requiring the Prime Minister's attention.
"Renowned for her rigorous working practices, Mrs. Thatcher went through her Prime Ministerial dispatch box each evening into the early hours of the morning making it her policy not to retire until all in the box had been dealt with."
Other lots included her parliamentary peeress robes, worn on her inauguration to the House of Lords in 1992.
They sold for ?�81,700 ($123,776), smashing an estimate of ?�1,800 ($2,727) by 4,428%.
Lady Thatcher's pioneering status as the first female prime minister of a western nation, and her impact on domestic and global politics, ensured a high turnout of enthusiastic bidders.
Almost every item soared past its initial estimate, indicating a huge market for the Iron Lady's memorabilia.
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