Additional Coverage:
- Letter written onboard the Titanic before it sank sells for almost $400,000 at auction (nbcnews.com)
A letter written by Titanic survivor Archibald Gracie just days before the ship’s sinking has sold at auction for a staggering $399,000. The letter, penned on April 10, 1912, and addressed to the seller’s great-uncle, contains a poignant observation about the Titanic: “It is a fine ship but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her.”
Auction house Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, England, confirmed the sale to a private American collector. The final price significantly surpassed the initial estimate of approximately $78,000. This letter is believed to be the only surviving example written by Gracie while aboard the Titanic.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge called the letter an “exceptional museum grade piece.” It offers a unique glimpse into the final days of the Titanic, which tragically sank after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage, claiming the lives of roughly 1,500 people.
Gracie, a first-class passenger, miraculously survived the disaster by jumping from the sinking ship and climbing onto an overturned lifeboat. He was later rescued and transported to the R.M.S.
Carpathia. Upon his return to New York City, Gracie authored “The Truth about the Titanic,” a detailed account of his harrowing experience.
Sadly, he never fully recovered from the ordeal and died later that year from complications related to diabetes and hypothermia. The letter itself was postmarked from Queenstown, Ireland, one of the Titanic’s final ports of call.