Foreboding letter by Titanic survivor sells for R7,3-million
How much would you pay to own a piece of history?
The story of the Titanic might be iconic, but it is, most importantly, very tragic.
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On the night the ship sank on 15 April 1912, more than 1500 people died, and even as recently as 2023, a group of adventurers lost their lives in an attempt to dive down to the sunken vessel.
Over the decades since the tragedy, many people have argued that the wreckage should be left alone.
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That hasn't stopped collectors, museums, and fanatics from trying to acquire pieces of the wreck.
Most recently, another piece of Titanic memorabilia was auctioned and raked in a hefty $400,000 (R7,3-million).
First-class passenger Col. Archibald Gracie is one of the most well-known survivors of the disaster.
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Upon boarding the ship in Southampton on April 10, 1912, he wrote a letter to a friend, that in hindsight seems eerily prescient.
It is a fine ship, but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her.
The "unsinkable" ship met its untimely demise only five days later.
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At auction, the letter was set to fetch only $80,000 (around R1,4 million) but ended up being sold to an anonymous bidder for five times the price.
According to NPR, Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge & Son, the auction house overseeing the letter's sale, believed it to be valuable because Gracie mentioned that he would withhold judgment.
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He also added that the sale is a testament to the public's continued interest in the shipwreck.
The stories of those men, women and children are told through the memorabilia, and their memories are kept alive through those items.
The letter left the ship when it stopped in Queenstown, Ireland, before embarking on its fateful journey across the Atlantic.
The seller of the letter's great-uncle was an acquaintance of Gracie and had received the letter in London on April 12, 1912, only three days before the ship sank.
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Main image courtesy of Henry Aldridge and Son LTD