The story of the Titanic ship has become legend. It is a piece of history that starts off with the promise of a better future yet ends with heart broking accident. One of the few reminders of this tragedy was a Titanic victim letter. The document is still carrying the stains of the Atlantic accident. During an auction event on Saturday, the correspondence was sold for a record price of $166,000.
The Titanic Tragedy Claimed Around 1,500 Lives
The precious letter is one of the last known pieces that survived the April 15, 1912, accident. This was when the humanity was hoping for a new era in transportation. However, they eventually faced a great tragedy.
RMS Titanic was slated to be an innovative marvel of the British passenger liners. It started its maiden voyage from Southampton and was supposed to reach New York City in style.
However, in the early morning of a spring day, the ship collided with an iceberg. There were 2,224 passengers and crew members at the moment of the impact. At least 1,500 lost their lives in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The new liner was carrying some of the richest families in the world. On top of that, it was a dream come true for hundreds of emigrants from Scandinavia, Ireland, and Great Britain. They were looking to start anew in the land of opportunities that the United States represented for them.
The Titanic Victim Letter Is the Only Document that Survived the Shipwreck
The tragic event went down in history as one of the sacrifices humanity has to endure to attain technological breakthroughs. This is why virtuosi started collecting remnants of the tragedy.
On Saturday, they had the opportunity to acquire a unique document that an American businessman, Oscar Holverson, wrote aboard Titanic. This is the only known letter with the headed Titanic notepaper that survived the sinking ship and the waters of Atlantic.
The buyer was from Great Britain and participated the event via phone. Her identity was not disclosed yet the auctioneer, Andrew Aldridge, recognized the character as a renowned devotee to iconic historical items.
Oscar Holverson was traveling with his wife with the aim to return to their homeland. He addressed the letter to his mother only one day before the iceberg impact. The text describes that the sender was marveling at the luxurious chambers of such a giant ship. However, Mr. Aldridge confessed that it was not the text that makes this document invaluable. It is the historical background, markings, and the Titanic paper that elevated the worth of the Titanic victim letter to $166,000.
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