Athena Tennis Girl poster dress sells for £15k
The white summer dress and other items related to the iconic 1970s Tennis Girl poster have sold for £15,500. Fieldings Auctioneers said dozens were interested in the lot, which had a guide price of £1,000 to £2,000. The image of Fiona Butler, 18, at the University of Birmingham’s courts in 1976 was printed by Athena and sold more than two million copies. The image was taken by the late Martin Elliott, who was the boyfriend of Ms Butler at the time.
The dress was on show at Wimbledon before it was auctioned. The tennis racquet from the photo, the dress, a 1979 poster and a 1980s limited edition canvas print were auctioned on the day of the ladies’ singles final. Fieldings Auctioneers said an anonymous buyer on the phone claimed them following interest from “registered bidders from all over the world”, with the furthest away being in New Zealand.