Historic Titanic Letter Fetches £300,000 at Auction

An auction held in Wiltshire, UK, witnessed the sale of a letter written by Colonel Archibald Gracie, a Titanic passenger, just five days before the ship's tragic sinking.

A remarkable piece of Titanic history was sold at auction for £300,000 ($400,000), well above its anticipated value of £60,000. The handwritten letter, composed by Colonel Archibald Gracie on April 10, 1912, generated great interest before being purchased by an anonymous buyer at Henry Aldridge and Son auction house in Wiltshire. Col Gracie's words were deemed "prophetic," with him expressing that he would "await my journey's end" regarding his evaluation of the "fine ship".

This letter was crafted as Gracie boarded the Titanic in Southampton and is particularly significant as it was written just days before the catastrophic event on April 15, 1912, when the ship struck an iceberg during its maiden voyage to New York, resulting in over 1,500 fatalities among the 2,200 passengers and crew.

Addressed from cabin C51, the letter was mailed on April 11, 1912, when the Titanic docked at Queenstown, Ireland, and was postmarked the following day in London. Notably, the auctioneer indicated this letter achieved the highest sale price for any Titanic correspondence.

Col Gracie, one of the fortunate survivors, documented his harrowing experience aboard the ill-fated vessel in his book, The Truth About The Titanic. He recounted his escape by clinging to an overturned lifeboat in the frigid Atlantic waters. Tragically, despite surviving, he suffered severe health complications due to hypothermia and injuries, ultimately leading to his death on December 4, 1912, after falling into a coma two days prior.