Letter written onboard Titanic beforeit sank sells for almost $400,000

 

 

 

ALETTER CARD penned by one of the Titanic’s most well-known survivors from on board the ship, days before it sank, has sold for 300,000 pounds ($399,000) at auction. In the note, written to the seller’s great-uncle on April 10, 1912, first-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote ofthe ill-fated steamship: “It is a fine ship but I shall await my journey send before I pass judgment on her.”

 

Theletterwas soldtoaprivate collector from the United States on Saturday, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son inWiltshire, England. The hammer price far exceeded the initial estimate price of 60,000 pounds. The letter is believed to be the sole example in existence from Gracie from onboard the Titanic, which sank off Newfoundland after hitting an iceberg, killing about 1,500 people on its maiden voyage. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described it as an “exceptional museum grade piece”. Gracie, who jumped from the ship and managed to scramble onto an overturned collapsible boat, was rescued by other passengers onboard a lifeboat and was taken to the R M S Carpathia.

 

He went on to write “The Truth about the Titanic,” an account of his experiences, when he returned to New York City. Gracie boarded the Titanic in Southampton on April 10, 1912, and was assigned first-class cabin C51. His book is seen as one of the most detailed accounts of the events of the night the ship sank, Aldridge said. Gracie did not fully recover from the hypothermia he suffered, and died of complications from diabetes in late 1912.