Tag Archives: auction

Titanic Menu Sells For $118,750

A rare Titanic menu was auctioned off this last weekend (the same
auction where the Titanic telegram failed to sell)for an astounding
$118,750. From finebooksmagazine.com:

The remarkable Titanic final dinner menu is signed by first class
passengers Edward P. Calderhead of New York City; Spencer V. Silverthorne of St. Louis; George E. Graham, a sales manager from
Winnipeg, Canada; James R. McGough, a buyer from Philadelphia; and JohnIrwin Flynn of Brooklyn, and is one of three pieces of memorabilia relating to the sinking offered in the auction. An oil painting of the iceberg by rescue ship passenger Laura Wilson Luce of Titusville, Pennsylvania sold for $12,500 and a menu from the R.M.S. Carpathia, the ship which first reached the Titanic following the sinking, sold for $3,125.

Source:Titanic’s Last Menu Tops $1.1+ Million Americana Auction atHeritage Auctions(finebooksmagazine.com,11 Nov 2015)


Is The Iceberg Photo Up For Auction Really The Iceberg That Hit Titanic?

Photograph of iceberg taken by chief steward of Prinz Adalbert on morning of 15 April 1912 near where Titanic sank. At the time he had not learned of the Titanic disaster. Smears of red paint along the base caught his attention. The photo and accompanying statement were sent to Titanic’s lawyers, which hung in their boardroom until the firm dissolved in 2002. Public Domain
Photograph of iceberg taken by chief steward of Prinz Adalbert on morning of 15 April 1912 near where Titanic sank. At the time he had not learned of the Titanic disaster. Smears of red paint along the base caught his attention. The photo and accompanying statement were sent to Titanic’s lawyers, which hung in their boardroom until the firm dissolved in 2002. Public Domain

Livescience.com has an article today that reports there is some doubt about the iceberg photograph up for auction is the one that collided with Titanic.

“There are two photos of icebergs from the area on the day following the collision, both of which purport to be the Titanic iceberg,” said Grant Bigg, an environmental scientist at the University of Sheffield in England.”

Bigg found there was another iceberg photo taken by Captain William George Squares de Carteret of the SS Minia. And believes it matches the dimensions that survivors gave of it. But there is no definitive proof that it is either.

Source:Photo of Iceberg that Sank Titanic for Sale: Is It Real?
(Livescience.com,22 Oct 2015)

Photo of Titanic Iceberg Up For Sale

A picture of the possible iceberg that doomed Titanic along with a
statement by a chief steward is up for auction at Henry Aldridge & Son. The steward describes seeing red paint on the iceberg that came from scraping a vessel. The photograph and statement signed by the steward were given to the White Star Line lawyers Burlingham, Montgomery & Beecher. After the inquiry it was framed and hung in their boardroom until the firm went out of business in 2002.

Photograph of iceberg taken by chief steward of Prinz Adalbert on morning of 15 April 1912 near where Titanic sank. At the time he had not learned of the Titanic disaster. Smears of red paint along the base caught his attention. The photo and accompanying statement were sent to Titanic’s lawyers, which hung in their boardroom until the firm dissolved in 2002. Public Domain
Photograph of iceberg taken by chief steward of Prinz Adalbert on morning of 15 April 1912 near where Titanic sank. At the time he had not learned of the Titanic disaster. Smears of red paint along the base caught his attention. The photo and accompanying statement were sent to Titanic’s lawyers, which hung in their boardroom until the firm dissolved in 2002. Public Domain

The photo was taken by M. Linoenewald, chief steward on German liner Prinz Adalbert. The Adalbert passed through the area where Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 but the disaster was not yet known to them. He took the photograph of the iceberg and later had three other crew members sign the statement as witnesses. The picture was included in Walter Lord’s book A Night To Remember.

Four of the remaining partners in the firm are putting it up for sale
through Henry Aldridge on 24 October 2015. It is lot 209 and estimated to fetch £15,000 ($23,000USD).

Source(s)
1.Guilty: the iceberg that sunk the Titanic (16 Oct 2015, Daily Telegraph)
2. Henry Aldridge & Son website*

*Note you will need to search the upcoming auction for details on the photo and other Titanic items up for auction.

Titanic Biscuit From Lifeboat Up For Auction

Photo: Henry Aldridge & Son
Photo: Henry Aldridge & Son

It can never be said that auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son never fail to see a profit in any Titanic memorabilia. A biscuit that was part of a survival kit in one of the Titanic lifeboats–and put into a Kodak photograph envelope by a passenger on Carpathia–is up for auction on 24 Oct 2015. The estimated price is between £8,000 – £10,000. Henry Aldridge tells the Daily Mirror:

“It is the world’s most valuable biscuit.We don’t know which lifeboat the biscuit came from but there are no other Titanic lifeboat biscuits in existence to my knowledge. It is incredible that this biscuit has survived such a dramatic event – the sinking of the world’s largest ocean liner – costing 1,500 lives.”

It really does prove Hard Tack can last a very long time indeed.

Source(s):
1.Biscuit That Survived Titanic Sinking 103 Years Ago Could Be Yours For £10k (8 Oct 2015,Daily Mirror)
2.Henry Aldridge & Son (website;news section)


Auction of Rare Titanic Memorabilia Tomorrow

1bigisland(WIkipedia)

A couple of rare Titanic items are up for auction:a ticket from the Turkish bath, a lunch menu, and a letter written six months after the disaster by Lady Duff Gordon’s secretary. The auction for these items is at Lion Heart Autographs in New York on 30 September. Bids are being accepted online.

Here is an article from National Geographic about the auction and its historic value:

A Look at the Titanic Artifacts Going to Auction This Week (29 Sep 2015, National Geographic)

Titanic News for 5 Sep 2015

Titanic Lunch Menu 14 April 1912. Photo: AP
Titanic Lunch Menu 14 April 1912.
Photo: AP

Online auctioneer To Auction Off Titanic Lunch Menu
Lion Heart Autographs of New York is auctioning off a rare Titanic lunch menu and other artifacts on 30 Sep 2015. The menu is signed in pencil by first class passenger Isaac Gerald Frauenthal. A ticket from the weighing chair in the Turkish baths and a letter written by survivor Mabel Francatelli to Abraham Lincoln Salomon are also being auctioned at the same time. The menu is expected to fetch between $50,000-$70,000, the ticket $7500-$10,000, and the letter $4,000-$6,000.
Source: Last Lunch Menu And Artefacts From Titanic’s Number One Lifeboat Auctioned(31 Aug 2015,The Guardian)

Titanic II or Titanic III?
Maritime Executive reports on the new time frame for Titanic II but looks at the Chinese replica being built in China as another possibility for Titanic enthusiasts. The article does not add anything new about Titanic II or the Chinese replica but sort of raises the question as to which one would you rather experience. Assuming of course if Palmer’s Titanic II ever gets built.
Source:Titanic II or Titanic III(30 Aug 2015,Maritime Executive)

Michel Navaratil Remembered At  Bratislava Titanic Exhibition
Michel Navaratil, who perished when Titanic sank but got his two sons into lifeboats,is being remembered as part of a Titanic exhibition in Bratislava, Slovakia. Navratil was born in Sered’ in 1880 and left for France at age 20. There he met Marcella Caretto with whom he had two sons: Michel and Edmond. After learning his wife had cheated on him, he decided to take his sons to the United States. Sadly he never made it but his kids survived causing a worldwide search for his relatives. Ultimately their mother found about them and they returned to France. The exhibition runs until 6 Dec 2015.

Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
Titanic Wreck Bow
Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)

Protecting Titanic: A Bit Too Late To Make A Difference
One of the raging controversies that divides (and still divides)the Titanic community was salvage. When Titanic was found in 1985, two miles down and in international waters, it meant no country could claim it within their borders. A company called RMS Titanic Inc (now part of Premier Exhibitions)went out and brought up some artifacts. It then went to federal court in the United States (in the United States the federal courts have original jurisdiction on maritime claims)and made a salvage claim. Since they had actual artifacts and the company that once owned the ship is gone (technically it became part of Cunard but it made no attempt to exert any legal claim on the wreck), they were awarded salvor-in-possession. One insurance company (which paid money out on a claim when Titanic sank)reached a settlement with RMS Titanic, Inc. The rest, as it is said, is history and the artifacts brought up now comprise Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition.

There was a brief tourist business in having people dive to the wreck. It was hideously expensive and there was some minor legal kerfuffle by RMS Titanic Inc to stop it (they lost). But that has pretty much died away. The wreck itself, like all wrecks, is being slowly eaten up by the sea (microbes and other organisms)and will be nothing more in a decade or more. Hardly anyone dives to it anymore. RMS Titanic Inc gave up its salvage claim and has been trying–unsuccessfully so far–in selling the Titanic collection. Now word comes Canada wants an exception to its claim of territory so it can claim the wreck as being in its waters. Huh? This makes no sense at all except as a publicity stunt. The wreck is disintegrating, some say accelerated by the diving down to it by salvagers and tourists. It might have made sense way long ago but it is far too late to make any difference now. It sounds nice though, from the government point-of-view, that we are taking steps to preserve the final moments of this disintegrating wreck. Too bad no one asks the obvious question why they waited till 2015 when they could have tried it back in 1985.
Source:The Way the Titanic Is Treated May Be About to Change(2 Sep 2015,Newser)


Titanic Shipping Label Auctioned Off

Shipping label addressed to Titanic wireless operator. Photo:johnnicholsons.com

                                       Photo:johnnicholsons.com

The shipping label for a parcel addressed to Marconi operator on Titanic has been sold at auction for £3,000($4,587). It was sold to an Internet bidder from the UK.

 

Source:Titanic Marconi Parcel Label Auctioned For £3,100(30 May 2015,BBC)


Update On Titanic Shipping Label Up For Auction

 Photo:johnnicholsons.com

                         Photo:johnnicholsons.com

A few days ago I reported on the upcoming auction of a shipping label from a package sent to the Marconi wireless operator on Titanic. A group called the Old Moulsham and Central Community Trust is seeking to purchase the label to show a link between Chelmsford Marconi factory and Titanic. They are currently trying to raise money from benefactors to make this possible.

The auctioneer is John Nicholson of Fernhurst, West Sussex, UK. The starting bid is £500 ($775) and will auctioned off on 30 May 2015.

Source: Bid To Bring Titanic Parcel Label Back To Chelmsford Marconi Factory(29 May 2015,Essex Chronicle)