Soap enthusiast who has collected more than 2,000 bars of soap is auctioning her collection
A grandmother who has amassed Britain’s largest soap collection in 50 years of more than 2,000 bars is selling it at auction.
Stephanie Weaver, 78, from Derby, began collecting soap – mainly from hotel bathrooms – in the 1970s when she was in her late twenties.
Her huge collection also includes donated items from around 1900 and one from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
Now she’s decided it’s time to part with it and she’ll be selling all of her soap later this month at Hansons Auctioneers.
Stephanie said, “I’ve been worried about what will happen to my soap collection when I open my clogs.
Stephanie Weaver, 78, of Littleover, Derby, began collecting soap in the 1970s, but recently decided to sell her collection, which contains more than 2,000 bars
“I don’t want to leave my daughters with all this to clean up.
“I love watching antiques shows on TV and suddenly woke up in the middle of the night with a brainwave — Charles Hanson,” she said, referring to the auctioneer who has appeared as an antiques expert on television’s Bargain Hunt, Flog It! and Antique Road Trip.
Stephanie collected her first bars of soap while on a family vacation in Europe with her daughters.
When she entered a hotel, she first went to the bathroom to see if there was any soap.
If so, she kept it as a keepsake and instead used soap to wash herself with.
They piled up over the years and Stephanie began stocking up on other soaps from supermarkets around the world.
Friends of hers also brought her bars from their travels, so her collection includes soaps from countries she’s never been to.
Stephanie, a retired bookkeeper, said, “I have everything from everyday brands like Lux and Palmolive to three handmade soaps from Thailand. I can hold that one.
Stephanie started collecting soaps in the 1970s and her friends and family started bringing her items to add to her treasure trove
Some of the soaps from her collection are still in the box and have not yet been opened, but will be auctioned soon
The oldest soap operas in Stephanie’s collection date back to the 1900s and show heads of various monarchs
“Over the years, my friends have hijacked my collection and when they left, they would bring me back a bar of soap from the hotels they visited.
“I have one from the Holiday Inn in Amman in the Middle East, but I’ve never been there.
‘I suppose the most important bar, historically, is one I got from a friend and dates back to circa 1900.
‘It shows the heads of various monarchs. I also made a soap crown on a pillow for the coronation in 1953.’
Stephanie keeps the soap in several plastic containers, drawers, and two large picnic baskets in her garage.
She listed and counted them all, and has notes from years ago detailing how many bars she had at that particular moment.
The impressive collection includes limited items such as Peter Rabbit and Fairy soaps, as well as bars found in hotels
The mother-of-two said she started to worry about what would happen to her collection after she was gone — so she started thinking of ways to unload the soap.
She talked to a thrift store about a huge soap donation, but the logistics of selling them individually proved too difficult.
So she contacted Charles Hanson, who will auction the entire collection this month between May 18 and May 23.
Stephanie, a grandmother of four, added: ‘I thought about donating them to charity, but when I mentioned it to a charity shop they said bring in two or three at a time.
‘With 2,000 soap operas, that could take years.
The collection varies from rectangular bars to bars of soap in the shape of animals or Christmas decorations
Stephanie explained that she has a bar of soap from the Holiday Inn in Amman in her collection, even though she has never been there
Another orange soap dish from 1900, one of the oldest pieces in Stephanie’s collection
Even more soap from Stephanie’s extensive collection, up for auction between May 18 and 23
The soap lover also owns a bar of soap in the shape of a crown and placed on a pillow, which dates back to 1953 and was produced on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
“Charles Hanson has an auction nearby selling unusual things. I reached out and he contacted me right away.
“I don’t care what they make, I just want to find them a home.”
Charlie Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: ‘Stephanie’s collection is completely unique.
‘It doesn’t have a particularly high monetary value and I expect it to fetch around £200.
It’s endearing for sentimental reasons though – I’ve never encountered anything like it.
“I hope we can allay Stephanie’s concerns about her collection and make sure it gets cleaned up at auction. We’re bidding to create the sweet smell of sales success.”