Henry Aldridge & Son

The Devizes Auctioneers

Press Release September 22^nd Auction of

RMS Titanic Memorabilia

Henry Aldridge and Son, the leading auctioneers of Titanic memorabilia in the world held their most recent auction of Titanic and White Star Line Collectables on September 22^nd. Over 400 lots of memorabilia from the ill fated liner and its owners the White Star Line were put under the hammer. In the weeks preceding the sale it had received blanket coverage in the media with all of the main newspapers in the United Kingdom together with numerous overseas organisations running stories on the most important items. This ensured a packed saleroom together with several television crews in attendance to record the sale for various news and documentary outlets.

The star of the show was a small key that belonged to David Blair who was the original second officer on Titanic. He sailed with the ship from Belfast to Southampton and was due to carry out his duties as a senior officer until a last minute change in personnel was decided by the management of the White Star Line. Henry Wilde was first officer of the Olympic and due for his own command; Wilde was also a close friend of Captain Edward J. Smith. Due to his experience with the Olympic class it was deemed a good idea to bring him over to Titanic for her maiden voyage. Wilde signed on to join the ship on the 9^th April, the day before she sailed.

In Blairs rush to leave Titanic, he carried this key off with him in his pocket. He only found it after Titanic had left Southampton so could do little else but keep it as a memento and treasured it throughout his life passing it onto his daughter Nancy, who later gifted the Blair collection to the British International Sailors Society.

This little key could have played a part in the fate of the great liner. Henry Aldridge and Son and some of the worlds leading historians in Titanic circles have come to the conclusion that the key had one of two uses. It was either used to lock the Graham and Co Navy type portable telephone in place or to lock the crows nest locker which may have kept the binoculars as mentioned in Lookout Fred Fleet’s testimony.  If this locker was inaccessible to Officer Lightoller and the crew because it was locked after Mr Blair’s departure the confusion as to the location of the binoculars would have stemmed from this. Mr Blair’s surviving son remembers when he was a teenager his father showing him the key.

It is also documented that Mr Blair gave the lookouts access to the binoculars between Belfast and Southampton. Would events have been different if he had stayed onboard the liner and had not been replaced as second Officer by  Charles Lightoller? .

Due to the obvious historical importance of this item, competition was fierce. It eventually came down to two telephone bidders, one of whom has one of the largest and most important collections of Titanic memorabilia in the world and the other a diamond company from China. The latter was successful paying £90000 for the privilege of owing this piece of history. Mr Blair also sent a postcard to his sister in law from Titanic, written on April 4^th 1912, after his arrival in Southampton. In the card he talks of his disappointment at leaving the ship but says he hopes to serve on her one day. This sold to a telephone bidder from the US for £11000.  Also offered were David Blair medals which included the George V medal for Gallantry at Sea, these sold for £4700.

Material connected to Titanic’s Launch in Belfast on May 31^st 1911 are amongst the rarest and most sought after from the ship. During a routine valuation roadshow in Belfast, a ticket to the launch of the great liner was brought in for appraisal. Although these items are widely reproduced, this particular example was genuine and caused great interest in the Titanic fraternity. It sold for £33000 to a telephone bidder who had just finished a round of golf in Portugal.

Mabel Lucie Francatelli was a First Class Passenger on Titanic and also the personal assistant for Lady Duff Gordon. She survived the disaster and on her return journey from New York whilst onboard the Lusitania on May 12^th 1912 she penned a few lines to her friend Mrs Flood. She mentioned the disaster and her thoughts and feeling surrounding it. The letter was appraised from by the Ocean Liner department of a major New York saleroom at around £750-£1200 so the vendor offered it to Henry Aldridge and Son for a second opinion. Andrew Aldridge decided the letters importance merited a pre sale estimate of £10000-£15000 and it sold for £22000 to an American collector on the telephone.

Henry Olsen was a Third Class Passenger on the great liner traveling to America with two companions. They paid £22 and 10 shillings for passage but all three were lost. Henry posted a  rare “Hands across the Sea” Silk postcard from the ship to his wife Sina talking about the ship and how steady she was. It remained in the family from until they contacted Henry Aldridge and Son who estimated the cards value at £10000-£15000. It was sold as the last lot of the day to a telephone bidder for £17000.

Other significant lots sold included a letter written onboard Titanic by Second Class Passenger Robert Bateman that sold for £15000, a copy of a wireless archive from the Titanic’s sister ship Olympic taken on April 14^th, 15^th and 16^th 1912 for £9000, a booklet of Rates for Titanic and Olympic £4000, Titanic Plan of First Class Accommodation £4800 and a internal Harland and Wolff telegram relating to Thomas Andrews which fetched £3000.

Henry Aldridge and Son are now inviting entries for their April 19^th Titanic and White Star Line auction. Items already consigned include a fascinating archive of material from Titanic’s printer Abraham Mishellamy. Please contact either Alan Aldridge Principal or Andrew Aldridge BA Hons MRICS for further details.