USA: Titanic lifeboat plaques expected to be highlight of upcoming ocean liner auction at Christie's in New York

Record ID: 225471

  • Title: USA: Titanic lifeboat plaques expected to be highlight of upcoming ocean liner auction at Christie's in New York
  • Date: 27th May 2006
  • Summary: CHRISTIE'S EMPLOYEE HOLDING UP TITANIC LIFEBOAT PLAQUE CLOSE UP OF TITANIC LIFEBOAT PLAQUE (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA2X3DUWN8ML40FK763TVW53I11
  • Story Text: Four bronze plates from the lifeboats that carried survivors of the Titanic sinking will hit the auction block next week and are expected to command some of the highest prices ever for items associated with the 1912 maritime disaster, Christie's announced on Friday (May 26).
    Two lots, one comprising a plate reading "S.S. Titanic" and a bronze White Star Line house flag, the other an "S.S. Titanic" plate and another reading "Liverpool," where the ill-fated ship was registered, are each expected to command from 40,000 to 70,000 US dollars, Christie's said.
    "It's certainly a possibility that they could go well over 100,000 dollars," said Gregg Dietrich, Christie's maritime specialist in charge of the sale.
    The items are the highlights of the ocean liner furnishings and art June 1 sale, which totals more than 350 lots, many from three major collections as well as the Steamship Historical Society.
    Models of other ill-fated ships including the R.M.S. Lusitania and the S.S. Andrea Doria, as well as the S.S. United States, the S.S Normandie and the S.S. France are also included. The Lusitania model is estimated to sell for 10,000 to 15,000 US dollars.
    A detailed model of the S.S. Conte Biancamano is also included and it is expected to sell for between 40,000 and 60,000 US dollars.
    But it is the Titanic offerings, including a detailed deck plan given to first class passengers, which is valued between 15,000 and 20,000 US dollars, a medal commissioned by famed survivor Molly Brown and presented to members of the crew from the rescue ship Carpathia, that most captivate.
    Titanic sank on her maiden voyage headed for New York after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,520 passengers and crew died, many needlessly when lifeboats, which were insufficient to hold all on board, nonetheless went down to the sea half-empty in many cases. Only about 700 survived.
    Among the famous passengers on board were industrialist John Jacob Astor, Macy's founder Isador Strauss and Benjamin Guggenheim, all of whom perished.
    Brown, a Manhattan socialite, was lauded for taking charge of her lifeboat and rallying the women on board to row to keep warm on the freezing seas. She has been variously portrayed in films by Debbie Reynolds, Thelma Ritter and Kathy Bates.
    After the Titanic disaster the lifeboats were either brought on board the Carpathia or towed to New York, where they were dismantled and, in some cases, looted despite being quarantined. Some were also brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
    The four brass plates, among only six known to still exist, are being sold from the private collection of a New York family which has owned them for several years.
    Also being sold are facing slips, which were used to bundle mail on RMS ships, stamped Titanic, which were recovered from a postal clerk's body.
    Among the higher prices fetched by Titanic memorabilia was the 88,500 US dollars paid for a menu from the ship's maiden voyage.
    Earlier this month a deck chair from the ship failed to sell when bidding did not meet a pre-arranged minimum, topping out at 62,000 US dollars, but a miniature locket portrait handed from a survivor to a male friend as she boarded a lifeboat and later retrieved from his body fetched more than 100,000 US dollars at an auction in April.
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