Latest news with #HenryAldridge&Son
CBS News
28-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Titanic passenger's letter with "prophetic line" sells for almost $400,000 at auction
A lettercard penned by one of the Titanic's most well-known survivors from onboard the ship, days before it sank, has sold for $399,000 at auction. In the note, written to the seller's great-uncle on April 10, 1912, first-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote of the ill-fated steamship: "It is a fine ship but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her." The letter was sold to a private collector from the United States on Saturday, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, 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." "Not only is it written by one of the most important first-class passengers on Titanic, Colonel Archibald Gracie, [but] the letter itself contains the most prophetic line: 'It is a fine ship but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her,'" Aldridge said in a statement. This undated handout picture provided by the auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, England, shows a lettercard, penned by one of the Titanic's most well-known survivors from onboard the ship days before it sank, which has sold for 300,000 pounds ($399,000) at auction. Henry Aldridge & Son / AP 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. The letter was postmarked Queenstown, Ireland, one of two stops the Titanic made before sinking. Henry Aldridge & So put up dozens of Titanic items up for auction this month, including a pocket watch and a third-class ticket belonging to two passengers who both died in the disaster. Pocket watches previously owned by Titanic passengers have sold for huge amounts at Henry Aldridge and Son's auctions before, with a bidder in November claiming one of them for $2 million. The price of that item had broken a record set earlier in the year, when the same auction house sold a different gold watch for about $1.46 million. In that case, the 14-carat object belonged to the wealthiest passenger on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor, whose net worth was around $87 million when the disaster happened in 1912.
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Violin used in Titanic movie sells for £54,000
A violin which featured in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster Titanic has sold for £54,000 at an auction in Wiltshire of memorabilia relating to the 1912 shipwreck. The violin was played by the musician and actor Jonathan Evans-Jones, who played band leader Wallace Hartley in the film. It is seen several times in the film, including during the scene in which the band play the hymn Nearer My God to Thee in an attempt to calm passengers as the ship sinks. As they conclude, Hartley says: 'Gentlemen, it has been a privilege playing with you tonight.' All of the musicians onboard the Titanic were among the 1,500 people who lost their lives when the ship sank in the Atlantic ocean after hitting an iceberg. In 2013, Evans-Jones sold the violin at auction to a private collector, who put it up for sale with Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers. Other lots sold on Sunday include a letter written by one of the most well-known survivors of the Titanic disaster, Colonel Archibald Gracie, which sold for £300,000, and a rare Titanic manifest sheet and inspection card. Cameron's multi-Oscar-winning film starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as passengers who meet and fall in love on the voyage, despite a class divide. Speaking on the Graham Norton Show to promote her Lee Miller biopic last year, Winslet said she was surprised to see Evans-Jones again when watching the soundtrack to the film – which she also produced – being recorded. 'I was looking through the glass into the stage where all the musicians are,' she said. 'Huge, 120-piece orchestra. And I'm looking at this violinist and I thought, 'I know that face.' And then the day goes on, and a few of the musicians start going, 'It's [him]!' and they're sort of pointing at him. 'I'm thinking, 'Am I related to this person? Who is this person?' And at the end of the day, I thought, 'OK, I've got to go in.' So I went in, and he went, 'Kate, it's me!' You know when the Titanic is going down, and the violinist stands up, and he goes, 'Come on, lads,' and he starts playing? It was that guy! I'm like, 'It's you!' It was wonderful.' Evans-Jones's movie credits also include No Time to Die, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Wicked.
Epoch Times
28-04-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
Letter Written Onboard Titanic Before It Sank Sells for Almost $400,000 at Auction
LONDON—A lettercard penned by one of the Titanic's most well-known survivors from onboard 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 of the ill-fated steamship: 'It is a fine ship but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her.' The letter was sold to a private collector from the United States on Saturday, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, 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. Related Stories 4/24/2025 3/22/2025 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.
CNN
28-04-2025
- General
- CNN
Letter written onboard the Titanic before it sank sells for almost $400,000
A lettercard penned by one of the Titanic's most well-known survivors from onboard the ship, days before it sank, has sold for £300,000 ($399,000) at auction. In the note, written to the seller's great-uncle on April 10, 1912, first-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote of the ill-fated steamship: 'It is a fine ship but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her.' The letter was sold to a private collector from the United States on Saturday, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, England. The hammer price far exceeded the initial estimate price of £60,000. 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. The letter was postmarked Queenstown, Ireland, one of two stops the Titanic made before sinking.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Prophetic' Letter Written by Titanic Passenger Days Before the Ship Sank Sells for Nearly $400,000 at Auction
A letter written by a Titanic survivor while onboard the ship has sold for nearly $400,000 at auction Antique auctioneer Henry Aldridge & Son called the note from Colonel Archibald Gracie "prophetic" — as he wrote that he would "await my journey's end" before he passed judgment on the "fine ship" An estimated 1,500 people died in the Titanic tragedy in April 1912 A letter written onboard the Titanic just days before the ship sank has sold for nearly $400,000 — far surpassing auction expectations. Antique auctioneer Henry Aldridge & Son announced the sale earlier this week, stating that the letter — written by Colonel Archibald Gracie while onboard the RMS Titanic in 1912 — fetched £300,000 pounds (roughly $399,000) at auction, surpassing its initial estimate of £60,000 (roughly $79,878.00). Per the auctioneer's website, the letter from one of the ship's most well-known survivors was "prophetic" — as he wrote it on April 10, 1912, three days before the ship struck an iceberg in the early morning in the North Atlantic Ocean. An estimated 1,500 people died in the tragedy. In the letter, Gracie wrote to an acquaintance, the grand-uncle of the seller, "It is a fine ship, but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her." He continued, in what's believed to be the only example of a letter from him on the ship, "The Oceanic is like an old friend and while she does not possess the elaborate style and varied amusement of this big ship, still her seaworthy qualities and yacht-like appearance make me miss her." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: The Titanic: Looking Back at the Ship's Tragic History Henry Aldridge & Son's website states that on the night of the Titanic sinking, Gracie went to bed early and intended to play squash in the morning. He then woke up to a jolt and the ship making contact with the iceberg before midnight, before he later assisted women and children into lifeboats. After securing his own escape, Gracie was eventually brought onto the rescue ship Carpathia, before returning to New York City and writing about his experience on the ship in The Truth About the Titanic. Gracie suffered from hypothermia complications and other injuries in the months to follow, before he died in December 1912 of complications from diabetes. The Truth About the Titanic was published the following year. The auctioned letter — dated April 10, the day Gracie boarded the ship at Southampton — was written on over four sides and postmarked Queenstown, Ireland, on April 11 and London on April 12. Three days later, the ship sank in the early morning off the coast of Newfoundland while on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Related: Titanic's Floating Door Sells for Whopping $718,750 at Auction, Beating Indiana Jones' Bullwhip Ahead of the Henry Aldridge & Son sale, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said Gracie's letter "is one of the finest of its type known" and has never come to the market before. "Not only is it written by one of the most important first-class passengers on Titanic, Colonel Archibald Gracie, [but] the letter itself contains the most prophetic line: 'It is a fine ship but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her'. Five days later Titanic was at the bottom of the North Atlantic," he said. The company later confirmed the letter's sale on Instagram, calling it a "fabulous day." "Multiple records were broken, including the amazing Archibald Gracie letter card written onboard Titanic, selling for a premium inclusive £300,000. Our next Titanic and liner auction in November promises to be another one to remember and we are now accepting entries," Henry Aldridge & Son wrote. Over the years, other antiques from the ship, such as a gold Tiffany & Co. pocket watch given to a captain, have fetched high prices at auction. Even props from the 1997 Titanic film have brought in big bucks, as just last year, the iconic piece of balsa wood that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet hang onto in the movie's final scenes sold for $718,750. Read the original article on People
