Ricketts, Colin. “‘Institutional Buyer’ Swoops but Leaves Titanic Haul for Collectors in Shipwreck Sale.” JustCollecting News. Last modified November 1, 2024. https://news.justcollecting.com/institutional-buyer-swoops-but-leaves-titanic-haul-for-buyers-in-shipwreck-sale/.
Lay’s Auctioneers of Penzanze posted this statement to their website just a week before the Charlestown Shipwreck Museum Sale was due to start on November 6. “We are pleased to announce that an institutional home has been found for many of the most important shipwreck artefacts from Charlestown’s incredible collection. Before this shock news, over 7,000 items from the Shipwreck Treasure Museum had been due to sell in 1,260 lots. Now 500 have been removed. A piece of coal from the legendary liner is still on sale with a £400 – £600 estimate. And those fascinated by the disaster-struck vessel can bid for models expected to realise, respectively, up to £800 and as much as £1,200 at sale. The lots listed still constitute a major maritime sale. They include guns, diving suits, uniforms and many ship parts.
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Plastic Jesus (Dave) via Wikimedia Commons
Robinson, Jon. “Huge Debts at Titanic Shipbuilder Harland & Wolff Revealed.” City AM. Last modified October 31, 2024. https://www.cityam.com/huge-debts-at-titanic-shipbuilder-harland-wolff-revealed/.
Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff owed more than £160m when it collapsed into administration last month, it has been revealed. Teneo was appointed to oversee the process at the 162-year-old holding company in September while its subsidiary firms, including its prized Belfast shipyard, will continue to trade under the control of the directors. “Whilst the group delivered revenue growth, it was slower than required and a recent large contract win was not expected to become profitable in the near term. “As a result, during 2024 the group had an increasing short-term liquidity requirement alongside a significant level of creditor arrears.”
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Image: Ben Sutherland via Wikimedia Commons. Posted originally on Flickr.
Paul, Andrew. “A Hunk of Coal From the Titanic Could Fetch $780 at Auction.” Popular Science, October 29, 2024. https://www.popsci.com/science/shipwreck-auction-titanic-coal/.
It’s unlikely that much else from the Titanic’s wreckage will ever return to the surface, although a number of artifacts have been salvaged since the famous ocean liner’s rediscovery in 1985. Now, one of those pieces of history is headed to auction—a hunk of coal originally intended as fuel for the 882-foot-long vessel’s boilers. The massive archeological trove previously resided at the UK’s Shipwreck Treasure Museum near St. Austell, Cornwall. Although its owners attempted to find a buyer for the institution earlier this year, no one appears ready to shell out the listing’s roughly $2.5 million price tag. Speaking with The Guardian on October 27th, David Lay of Lay’s Auctioneers helped contextualize the significance of his company’s impending event lots, including a length of rope recovered from King Henry VIII’s Tudor flagship, the Mary Rose.
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Davis, Johnny. “For Sale: Rolex Watches That Have Been to the Titanic.” Esquire, October 29, 2024. https://www.esquire.com/uk/watches/a62746931/for-sale-rolex-watches-that-have-been-to-the-titanic/.
The second watch was gifted to Giddings by a Rolex employee and prominent diver called T. Walker Lloyd. The pair had become friends after Giddings had begun documenting the research of the marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle. Giddings’s photography was used by Rolex to launch its working relationship with Dr. Earle. (Giddings provided it for free.) Now both of Giddings’ Submariners are up for auction at Sotheby’s. The December sale is being overseen by Geoff Hess. The steel ref. 1680 has an estimate of $20,000-$40,000. His yellow gold ref. 1680/8 has an estimate of $30,000-$60,000. The sale takes place on 6 December in New York.
Suggested Reading
- Behe, G. (2012). On board RMS Titanic: Memories of the Maiden Voyage. The History Press.
- Brewster, H. (2013). Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic’s First-Class Passengers and Their World. National Geographic Books.
- Rossignol, K. (2012). Titanic 1912: The Original News Reporting of the Sinking of the Titanic. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform.
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