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Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Violin used in 1997 Titanic film sells for £54k
A violin played by the band leader of the Titanic as it sank in the 1997 Hollywood film has been sold for £54,000 at a "record breaking" auction. The violin was used to play the hymn Nearer My God To Thee as the ship went down. Meanwhile a letter written by one of most well-known survivors of the Titanic disaster, Colonel Archibald Gracie, sold for a record breaking £300,000 at the auction. The violin, previously, described as a "true piece of movie history", was auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire on Saturday. Band leader Wallace Hartley and his fellow musicians were all killed along with more than 1,500 others after the ocean liner hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912. The Oscar-winning film, directed by James Cameron, saw Kate Winslet play upper class socialite Rose opposite Leonardo DiCaprio's third class passenger Jack Dawson on the doomed ship's maiden voyage. Mr Hartley, who famously played on in the face of impending doom, was played by violinist and actor Jonathan Evans-Jones. The violin can be seen several times in the film but most famously during the scene where Nearer My God To Thee is played to try and calm passengers as the ship sank. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire In 2013, Mr Evans-Jones sold the violin at auction and it has been in the possession of a private collector ever since. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "The record breaking prices and global participation from collectors are a testament to the enduring interest in the Titanic the world over. "The stories of those men, women and children are told through the memorabilia and their memories are kept alive through those items." Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Violin prop used in Titanic movie up for sale Titanic scan reveals ground-breaking details of ship's final hours 1979: How I survived the sinking of the Titanic Henry Aldridge & Son
Express Tribune
28-04-2025
- Express Tribune
Titanic survivor's "prophetic" letter sells for £300,000 at UK auction
A handwritten letter by Titanic survivor Colonel Archibald Gracie, penned days before the ship's sinking, has sold for a record-breaking £300,000 ($400,000) at an auction in Wiltshire, England. The letter, dated April 10, 1912, was written aboard the Titanic and posted from Queenstown, Ireland, during one of the ship's final stops before it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Gracie, a first-class passenger in cabin C51, described the vessel as a "fine ship" but said he would "await my journey's end" before giving his full judgment. Auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son, the letter exceeded its estimated value of £60,000 by five times. The buyer, an anonymous collector from the United States, secured what experts describe as the only known letter written by Gracie aboard the doomed liner. Gracie, who survived the 1912 disaster by clinging to an overturned lifeboat, later chronicled his ordeal in The Truth About the Titanic. Despite surviving the initial sinking, he died in December 1912 from complications related to hypothermia and diabetes. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge called the letter an "exceptional museum-grade piece" and noted it drew significant international interest. The sale marks the highest price ever achieved for Titanic correspondence. The Titanic, bound from Southampton to New York, carried over 2,200 passengers and crew when it sank, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people. The emotional power of Gracie's words and the historic significance of the artifact contributed to the record-setting auction.
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Titanic survivor's rare letter sells for record £300,000 at UK auction
A rare and chilling piece of Titanic history has fetched a record-breaking £300,000 at a UK auction. The letter, written by Colonel Archibald Gracie , a high-profile survivor of the 1912 maritime disaster, offers a haunting glimpse into the days before tragedy struck. Gracie's words, penned on Titanic letterhead from his first-class cabin, contain a prophetic note of caution about the ship's fate. The letter, never before offered for sale, smashed its expected price of £60,000 at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Wiltshire. Experts hailed the letter as a museum-grade artefact of extraordinary historic significance. What is written in the Prophetic Titanic letter that sold for a record £300,000 Written on April 10, 1912, the day Colonel Gracie boarded the Titanic, the letter conveys both admiration and hesitation. Gracie described the ship as a "fine ship" but added that he would "await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her." The note, mailed after Titanic's brief stop in Queenstown, Ireland, was later postmarked in London on April 12. Gracie nostalgically compared the Titanic to the Oceanic, praising the older vessel's yacht-like qualities. Ending on a warm note, he thanked his acquaintance for a kind farewell, wishing them "success and happiness." A letter steeped in tragedy and survival by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Underground Oddities: Weird Characters Spotted in the Subway Subway Quirks and Curiosities Undo Gracie's experience on the Titanic was marked by heroism and heartbreak. On April 14, he spent his day playing squash, swimming, and attending church services aboard the ship. That night, he was jolted awake as the Titanic struck an iceberg. Gracie spent the final moments of the voyage helping women and children into lifeboats and fetching blankets. When the ship finally plunged into the Atlantic, he survived by clambering onto an overturned collapsible lifeboat. His survival story, later chronicled in his book The Truth About the Titanic, remains one of the most detailed firsthand accounts of the disaster. A historic record broken Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described the letter as an exceptional item, calling it the highest price ever achieved for a Titanic letter. The piece was written on a rare Titanic letter card, making it even more valuable to collectors and historians. The seller's great-uncle, an acquaintance of Gracie, originally received the letter at London's Waldorf Hotel. The emotional weight of Gracie's prophetic words and the rarity of survivor correspondence combined to create intense bidding. Ultimately, a private collector from the United States secured this remarkable window into a moment forever frozen in time.
Time of India
28-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Titanic survivor's haunting letter written days before sinking sells for record £300,000 at auction; here's what it said
A rare letter penned by Colonel Archibald Gracie , one of the Titanic's most distinguished survivors, has fetched a record £300,000, a fivefold increase on its estimated price, at an auction in Wiltshire, as a new high price for Titanic correspondence was smashed. The letter, dated April 10, 1912, the very day Gracie boarded the Titanic, offers a chilling glimpse into the final days before disaster struck. Written on a Titanic letter card and postmarked in Queenstown and London, it is ominous in tone, with the following ominous words: "It is a fine ship but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her." Auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son described it as "a truly exceptional, museum-grade piece," saying it is the record price for a Titanic letter. Survivor letters of Gracie's stature are extremely rare, with this one never previously on the market. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Don't Miss The Top Packaging Trends Of 2024, Enhance Your Brand With Latest Insights (Check Now) Packaging Machines | Search Ads Search Now Undo The four-page letter, written to a family acquaintance who befriended Gracie at the London Waldorf Hotel, is warm in its reminiscence about his earlier crossings on the Oceanic, remembering, "Her sea-worthy qualities and yacht-like appearance make me miss her," while also marveling at the size of the Titanic. Days later, Gracie would be a participant in one of history's most horrific nights. Following an evening of squash, a dip in the ship's pool, and a Sunday church service, Gracie was rudely awakened at 11:40 pm by the abrupt shutdown of Titanic's engines. Without hesitation, he assisted women and children into lifeboats, procuring blankets to protect them from the cold. When the ship finally went down into the Atlantic waves, Gracie crawled onto an upturned collapsible boat with other survivors. In the blackness, frantic swimmers cried out for assistance, but fear of capsizing prevented those on board from taking on more. Gracie remembered with sorrow that over half the men holding on to the upturned boat died before dawn, exhausted and chilled. "In no instance, I am happy to say, did I hear any word of rebuke," Gracie wrote in his later memoir, The Truth About the Titanic, recounting the final moments of those left behind, some offering blessings rather than curses. Col. Gracie's eye-witness account is still one of the most detailed and graphic accounts of the tragedy. The auctioneers titled the letter an invaluable relic, "It is impossible to overstate the rarity of this lot," they added. "Written by one of the most famous survivors, it captures a moment frozen in time."
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Violin used in 1997 Titanic film sells for £54k
A violin played by the band leader of the Titanic as it sank in the 1997 Hollywood film has been sold for £54,000 at a "record breaking" auction. The violin was used to play the hymn Nearer My God To Thee as the ship went down. Meanwhile a letter written by one of most well-known survivors of the Titanic disaster, Colonel Archibald Gracie, sold for a record breaking £300,000 at the auction. The violin, previously, described as a "true piece of movie history", was auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire on Saturday. Band leader Wallace Hartley and his fellow musicians were all killed along with more than 1,500 others after the ocean liner hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912. The Oscar-winning film, directed by James Cameron, saw Kate Winslet play upper class socialite Rose opposite Leonardo DiCaprio's third class passenger Jack Dawson on the doomed ship's maiden voyage. Mr Hartley, who famously played on in the face of impending doom, was played by violinist and actor Jonathan Evans-Jones. The violin can be seen several times in the film but most famously during the scene where Nearer My God To Thee is played to try and calm passengers as the ship sank. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire In 2013, Mr Evans-Jones sold the violin at auction and it has been in the possession of a private collector ever since. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "The record breaking prices and global participation from collectors are a testament to the enduring interest in the Titanic the world over. "The stories of those men, women and children are told through the memorabilia and their memories are kept alive through those items." Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Violin prop used in Titanic movie up for sale Titanic scan reveals ground-breaking details of ship's final hours 1979: How I survived the sinking of the Titanic Henry Aldridge & Son
