Henry Aldridge & Son

The Devizes Auctioneers

The Golden Age of Luxury Travel

The Duke of Windsor's Favoured Suites from R.M.S Olympic (Sister Ship to Titanic) to be Sold At Auction at Southampton.

April 14th is the eighty eighth anniversary of the sinking of the most famous ship to ever take to the seas. Henry Aldridge & Son The Devizes Auctioneers are holding an auction of rare treasures from Titanic, her sister ship Olympic and other White Star Line memorabilia. This sale will be held at 2pm on the 14th April at The British Titanic Society Convention at the Hilton Hotel in Southampton, England.

When the Duke of Windsor travelled to the USA in the 1930's on business one of his favoured suites was Cabin C-86 also known as the Renaissance Room. R.M.S Olympic was broken up in 1935 and all of her various parts were sold at auction. This room and others were purchased by Mr H. Hutton of the Marquis of Granby Hotel in Derbyshire. The panels of this room were fitted into his hotel where they remained until now. They are to be sold in over 70 lots by auction panel by panel. This will enable collectors to purchase not only a piece of maritime history but also a piece of memorabilia from one of the great romances of the 20th century.

The auction is focused primarily on R.M.S Titanic with a number of rare and unique lots from the ship. In March 1999, Henry Aldridge & Son sold a Benson Pocket watch given to Able Seaman Thomas Jones by The Countess of Rothes for 22,000 pounds. The previous record being 15,000 pounds. Around this time, a Southampton Jeweller deceived a lady into selling him a silver Benson watch from Titanic for 15 pounds. This watch, which is the sister to the one sold, was later the subject of a court case. The case set a precedent in English law as well as finding the Jeweller in question guilty. This Benson Pocket watch was given to Bedroom Steward Crawford also by The Countess of Rothes and is expected to realise 10,000-15,000 pounds.

The single lot that is expected to fetch to the highest sum in the whole of the auction is a very rare silver plated business card case. It measures only 4 ins across but has an enamelled R.M.S Titanic motif on the face. This piece was owned by one of the crew who sailed on board in between Belfast and Southampton before she took on passengers. This crew member for reasons unknown to us left the ship when she arrived in Southampton and took this case as a souvenir. Very few items still survive that carry her name. In July 1999, we sold a lapel badge for 10,000 pounds. This business card case is estimated at 20,000-30,000 pounds.

One of the most important men who sailed on R.M.S Titanic was Charles Melville Hays. Mr Hays was the Chairman of The Grand Trunk Railway in Canada. He was founder of the second Trans-Continental route across that continent. The letter to be auctioned was written on April 1st, 9 days before Titanic set sail. Ironically on the night of the disaster, Hays sat in the Gentlemen's Smoking Lounge talking about technological advances in transportation. At one point, Hays conceded that while Titanic was a superlative vessel, he expressed concern that "the trend to playing fast and loose with larger and larger ships will end in tragedy." Twenty minutes after this discussion Titanic had hit an iceberg. This letter is expected to fetch between 1500-2500 pounds. Other written material in the auction is a silk postcard actually written on board Titanic by Edward Dorking. Only four other silks of this type or known to exist. We expect this lot to sell for between 4000-6000 pounds. A postcard written by 3rd Officer Herbert Pitman, again written on board Titanic but before she sailed is also expected to sell for several thousand pounds.

The auction boasts over 330 entries in one of the biggest sales of its kind ever held in the UK or Europe. Collectors will be travelling from all over the world to visit the British Titanic Society Convention to be held in the city where Titanic started her maiden voyage.

So many films having been produced devoted to the subject. With this in mind, there is a section within the auction devoted entirely to movie memorabilia. The star of this section is without doubt a Harland and Wolff full size Lifeboat of the type used on board White Star Line ships. The Lifeboat was owned by 20th Century Fox and has featured in several movies such as Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat and also The 1953 feature film Titanic starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. Other entries include props from James Cameron's blockbuster together with items from its premiere in Japan and the Oscars Ceremony where it won so many accolades.