The ultimate picnic hamper was featured in the 2005 Christy’s auction of the contents of Albemarle House, Patricia Kluge’s estate in Virginia. This is the ultimate picnic hamper.
Lindaraxa.blogspot.com writes, “Commissioned in the 1980’s by the Kluges from the London firm of Asprey, jewellers and silversmith to the British Royal Family, this picnic hamper is the pinnacle of sophistication. Containing a full service of just about everything imaginable for a party of sixteen, the hamper can be towed to the perfect picnic location by hooking it to the back of a tractor. The wicker trailer holds about 15 wicker cases, each fitted with brass handles and leather straps, with battery-powered hot and cold boxes and a water pump, cases for Bernardaud Limoges china, Baccarat crystal, Asprey silver cutlery, a staghorn bar service, two folding mahogany tables and 16 chairs, each with the monogram “K.” The set was estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 and sold for a whopping $144,000. Although day-trippers have used wicker carryalls since the 1700s, the true picnic basket was born in 1901, when British luxury-goods retailers like Asprey started stocking hampers filled with tableware for motorists to enjoy on country drives.”
