Tag Archives: letter written on Titanic

Titanic News: Fur Coat Sold for £150,000 and other news

Sorry to not post in a while. It was due to both work and the tax season. Now for the news.

Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

1. Titanic stewardess’ fur coat fetches £150,000 at auction (Independent, 23 April 2017)
Fur coats used to be a stylish thing to wear but these days they are despised. Back in 1912 though, they were an important status symbol.In this case it was neither style nor class but the need to keep warm. Mabel Bennett, a first-class stewardess aboard Titanic, threw it on to keep herself warm. She kept it one while on Carpathia and for the rest of her life. After her death, it was sold to Henry Aldridge and Son who loaned it to a museum in the U.S. It was auctioned off on Saturday far above the estimated price of £50,000-£80,000 and sold for a staggering £150,000 ($191,767USD). The buyers name was not announced but surely one of the highest prices paid for a collectible mink coat.

2. Lost Titanic letter expected to fetch big money at auction (New York Post, 20 April 2017)
A “Wish You Were Here” letter written aboard the Titanic could fetch thousands of dollars at auction this weekend. Four days before the ship sank, Swiss banker Alfons Simonius-Blumer penned the missive to his wife and daughter — in which he expressed regret they were not aboard the ship.Simonius-Blumer was sailing to New York on business with a colleague, Max Staehelin, but without his wife, Alice, and their daughter, Ella. He wrote the letter the morning of April 11, 1912, while the supposed unsinkable pride of the White Star Line steamed between Cherbourg in France and Queenstown, Ireland, its last stop before the fateful Atlantic crossing. Simonius-Blumer also described visiting the ship’s gym, enjoying the Turkish baths and lighting up in the smoking room. As a first-class passenger, he was able to get on a lifeboat after the Titanic struck an iceberg late at night on April 14 and was rescued by the RMS Carpathia the following morning.
The letter was also auctioned off on Saturday at Henry Aldridge for £32,500 ($41,543USD)

3. Titanic relatives mark 105th anniversary in Belfast (BBC, 14 April 2017)
The event was organised by the great-grandson of the man who was at the helm when the ship struck an iceberg. Simon Medhurst, a long-time collector of Titanic memorabilia, said he only found out that he was related to Robert Hichens, one of the ship’s quartermasters, after meeting his birth father in 2012. “It was a complete turnaround for my life, really, from collecting to suddenly being somebody who is connected to the Titanic,” he said. Simon explained that Friday’s event had taken two years to organise. “I wasn’t sure if it would just be our family that turned up, but actually it’s been phenomenal to see relatives and enthusiasts. People just love the story of the Titanic. “I think the importance of this type of gathering is in that it is easy to forget that there were those who lost their lives.”

4. Full-size Titanic replica built in China (Jakarta Post,19 April 2017)
The project was first announced in 2014 and will cost an estimated 1 billion yuan (US$145.4 million). The model will measure out at 269-meters long and 28-meters wide, complete with a ballroom, theater, swimming pool, first-class cabins, and even Wi-Fi, according to Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group deputy general manager Wang Weiling as reported by AFP. The design of the ship is based on the original British passenger liner, and both British and American designers and technicians will assist in the project. And just in case visitors have worries of a second sinking, the boat will be permanently docked on a reservoir in a rural area of Sichuan province, according to Xinhua. No word from Clive Palmer about whether his Titanic replica will ever get funded.


Rare Titanic Letter Up For Auction

A letter written aboard Titanic by James Danby before it sailed from Southampton is up for auction on 23 April. Danby went aboard to see his wife’s uncle and employer Adolphe Saalfeld. Saalfeld was going to America to sell essential oils to clients, survived the sinking but his satchel containing the glass vials and other things was left behind. It would not be found until 2000 by the submersible Mir 1. Danby, who had migrated to Britain from Germany, would be interned for the duration of World War I. After the war he relocated to Amsterdam and ran a successful business until the Germans invaded in 1940. Being Jewish made him a target and he was eventually arrested in 1943 and sent to Sobibor. He would be killed along with Rose and her mother Clara. His daughters Margaret and Ellen survived the war and went to Canada. Danby’s grandaughter Petra Burka would represent Canada in the 1964 Winter Olympics and bring home the bronze for figure skating.

Well known Titanic auctioneer Henry Aldridge & Son is holding the auction. The letter is expected to fetch between $14,117 to $21,175.

Source:First Letter Written Onboard The Titanic Up For Sale (Foxnews.com,8 April 2016)

Thursday Titanic News

Titanic Belfast (side view) Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)
Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

1. Last Letter Ever Written On Titanic Arrives In Belfast To Go On Display As Part Of Five Year Loan(25 Mar 2015,Belfast Live)
The historic artefact, written by a mother and daughter who survived the ship’s sinking but was never sent, is being loaned to the attraction for five years. It will go on display in Titanic Belfast after Easter. The official handover will take place on Wednesday morning. The letter was written by Essex-born Esther Hart and her seven-year-old daughter Eva just eight hours before the ship hit an iceberg and sank in April 1912.

Photo:Public Domain
Photo:Public Domain

2. Titanic Never Leaves The Minds Of International Ice Patrol Crew(23 Mar 2015,BusinessTelegram.com)
McGrath, a commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, heads the International Ice Patrol and it’s their job to make sure the tragedy isn’t repeated. And since 1913, when the patrol started, no ship heeding its warnings has struck an iceberg.”That is why we do what we do, to keep that from happening again,” she said. Given current weather patterns, this year may be a busy one for her crew.

3. Call To Honour Hatfield Man Who Died In Titanic Sinking(23 Mar 2015,Welwyn Hatfield Times)
Now, namesake Dennis Gunn, who lives in North London, has called on authorities to honour the “poor lad” with a plaque at a suitable place in the town. He said: “I wonder if the citizens of Hatfield know about him even, or if anybody is interested in him. “I’d certainly start the ball rolling myself, financially.“

MacHighway - Web Hosting for Mac Users, by Mac Users, Since 1997