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Titanic memorabilia expected to raise $1m at Boston auction Titanic memorabilia expected to raise $1m at Boston auction
(about 17 hours later)
It was Molly Brown who proved unsinkable, not the ship she sailed on. A magnificent silver cup, presented to the captain who came to her rescue, will be the star object in a US auction of memorabilia from the Titanic, 102 years after the ship went down in the north Atlantic, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.It was Molly Brown who proved unsinkable, not the ship she sailed on. A magnificent silver cup, presented to the captain who came to her rescue, will be the star object in a US auction of memorabilia from the Titanic, 102 years after the ship went down in the north Atlantic, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.
The sale at RR Auction in Boston is predicted to raise up to $1m, with the cup alone estimated to fetch more than $200,000. The sale also includes technical drawings of the ship, letters written on board on White Star Titanic-headed paper, photographs, copies of contemporary newspapers with accounts of the disaster, a fragment of timber from the grand staircase and even a scrap of wood from one of the deckchairs. The sale at RR Auction in Boston is predicted to raise up to $1m (£600,000), with the cup alone estimated to fetch more than $200,000 (£119,000). The sale also includes technical drawings of the ship, letters written on board on White Star Titanic-headed paper, photographs, copies of contemporary newspapers with accounts of the disaster, a fragment of timber from the grand staircase and even a scrap of wood from one of the deckchairs.
Brown's life had been comfortable enough until the night of 15 April 1912. Born to Irish immigrants to the United States, she married a poor man who became immensely wealthy and became a campaigner for causes including the rights of children and low-paid workers, and votes for women. She took a first class cabin on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, the Belfast-built ocean liner famous even before it was launched because of the boast that the opulently fitted-out ship was "unsinkable". Brown's life had been comfortable enough until the night of 15 April 1912. Born to Irish immigrants to the United States, she married a poor man who became immensely wealthy and became a campaigner for causes including the rights of children and low-paid workers, and votes for women. She took a first-class cabin on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, the Belfast-built ocean liner famous even before it was launched because of the boast that the opulently fitted-out ship was "unsinkable".
When the ship struck an iceberg and was fatally holed, Brown helped others to board the lifeboats before being persuaded into one herself where she took one of the oars. Even then, she tried to persuade the crew to go back and save more people. She became known as the Unsinkable Molly Brown, and her life inspired a musical and a movie. When the ship struck an iceberg and was fatally holed, Brown helped others to board lifeboats before being persuaded into one herself, where she took one of the oars. Even then, she tried to persuade the crew to go back and save more people. She became known as the Unsinkable Molly Brown, and her life inspired a musical and a movie.
A month after the sinking, she presented the silver cup on behalf of herself and other survivors to Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia, the ship that changed course and exceeded its official top speed to get to the site and rescue more than 700 people from overloaded lifeboats or the icy water.A month after the sinking, she presented the silver cup on behalf of herself and other survivors to Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia, the ship that changed course and exceeded its official top speed to get to the site and rescue more than 700 people from overloaded lifeboats or the icy water.
The cup is inscribed: "In grateful recognition and appreciation of his heroic and efficient service in the rescue of the survivors of the Titanic on April 15th 1912, and of the generous and sympathetic treatment he accorded us on his ship. From the Survivors of the Titanic." Described by Bobby Livingston of RR Auction as "one of the most valuable pieces of Titanic memorabilia still in private possession", the cup had remained in Rostron's family until now, and has been loaned to many Titanic museum exhibitions.The cup is inscribed: "In grateful recognition and appreciation of his heroic and efficient service in the rescue of the survivors of the Titanic on April 15th 1912, and of the generous and sympathetic treatment he accorded us on his ship. From the Survivors of the Titanic." Described by Bobby Livingston of RR Auction as "one of the most valuable pieces of Titanic memorabilia still in private possession", the cup had remained in Rostron's family until now, and has been loaned to many Titanic museum exhibitions.
The sale includes objects once owned by both rich and poor passengers of the ship, including a gold collar stud worn by a first-class passenger, stockbroker Austin Partner; a silver half-dollar owned by second-class passenger John W Gill, who was heading for America hoping to make a new life; and a steel rivet head, stamped SS Titanic 1912, taken as a souvenir by a construction worker in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. The sale includes objects once owned by both rich and poor passengers of the ship, including a gold collar stud worn by a first-class passenger, stockbroker Austin Partner; a silver half-dollar owned by second-class passenger John W Gill, who was heading for the US hoping to make a new life; and a steel rivet head, stamped SS Titanic 1912, taken as a souvenir by a construction worker in the Harland and Wolff shipyard.
Letters include one signed "your loving son Len", from Leonard Taylor, an 18-year-old who had signed on as a Turkish bath attendant at £4 a week – which he wasn't too pleased about. He wrote a vivid description to his parents in Blackpool of a near-miss off the French coast: "I am on the briney [sic] ocean, & leaving Queenstown we passed Cherbourg last night. I suppose you read about our narrow escape when coming out of the docks at Southampton. The sucking power of the propellers was so great that she broke loose another vessel lying outside port and was only an airsbreath from hitting her." Letters include one signed "your loving son Len", from Leonard Taylor, an 18-year-old who had signed on as a Turkish bath attendant at £4 a week, which he wasn't too pleased about. Taylor wrote a vivid description to his parents in Blackpool of a near-miss off the French coast: "I am on the briney [sic] ocean, & leaving Queenstown we passed Cherbourg last night. I suppose you read about our narrow escape when coming out of the docks at Southampton. The sucking power of the propellers was so great that she broke loose another vessel lying outside port and was only an airsbreath from hitting her."
He added: "I am very comfortable – getting good food & a good bunk, my wages are low but I will let you know all later as I want to catch the Queenstown mail, I am only writing to let you know I am all right. I will write next week sending full particulars about my none too good job." Taylor never did – his body was never recovered, and the letter was kept carefully for more than a century in its very rare White Star envelope.He added: "I am very comfortable – getting good food & a good bunk, my wages are low but I will let you know all later as I want to catch the Queenstown mail, I am only writing to let you know I am all right. I will write next week sending full particulars about my none too good job." Taylor never did – his body was never recovered, and the letter was kept carefully for more than a century in its very rare White Star envelope.
The sale also includes a set of large scale plans of the ship prepared for the official British Board of Trade enquiry into the disaster, as the world struggled to understand how the largest passenger ship ever built had sunk to the bottom of the north Atlantic, taking so many lives with her. Only two first-class passengers were interviewed – one of them the White Star Line president, J Bruce Ismay – and none of the lower-class passengers. The report found that the sinking was caused solely by the collision with the iceberg when the ship was travelling too fast, not by any design problems in its construction – a conclusion regarded by many, at the time and since, as a whitewash. The sale also includes a set of large scale plans of the ship prepared for the official British Board of Trade inquiry into the disaster, as the world struggled to understand how the largest passenger ship ever built had sunk to the bottom of the north Atlantic, taking so many lives with her. Only two first-class passengers were interviewed – one of them the White Star Line president, J Bruce Ismay – and none of the lower-class passengers. The report found that the sinking was caused solely by the collision with the iceberg when the ship was travelling too fast, not by any design problems in its construction – a conclusion regarded by many, at the time and since, as a whitewash.