DIAMOND VANITY CASE, CARTIER, 1937

Lots 21 to 24 are from the collection of British actress and voluntary worker Elizabeth Irving (1904-2003), formed from the 1920s onwards. Coming from a family of actors, set designers and directors, she performed in roles such as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and in a silent film version of Charlotte Bronte’s Shirley. Throughout her career she would refer to herself as an actor, rather than an actress – a break with tradition for her time. In 1926 she married Felix Brunner, who succeeded his father as 3rd Baronet, and became Lady Brunner. She served as chairman of the National Federation of Women's Institutes from 1951 to 1956 and was awarded an OBE in 1964, for her devotion to ‘Keep Britain Tidy’, the charity founded by her in 1955.