Henry Aldridge & Son

The Devizes Auctioneers

Unique Titanic Collection to be sold at Auction.

Henry Aldridge and Son, the world’s leading auctioneers of Titanic and White Star Line memorabilia are proud to announce their latest auction on October 18^th. The sale will feature the personal collection of Titanic First Class Steward Edmund Stone. It is the most important archive of its type from a Titanic crewman to be offered for a number of years.

Edmund Stone was aged 33 at the time of the Titanic sinking and lived at 105 St Andrews Road, Southampton with his wife Elizabeth. Mr Stone was responsible for cabins E1-E42 on E Deck of Titanic. Notable passengers included the famed American painter and muralist Francis Millet and Mabel Francatelli who was maid to the infamous British Aristocrats Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon.

Mr Stone is mentioned in the American enquiry by both Norman Chambers for whom he was his bedroom steward and also fellow crewman Henry Etches.

“As I was going through the door I met a bedroom steward named Stone. He was the man my mate was supposed to relieve. He was bedroom steward on E deck. I said; "What is the time"? He said, "Never mind about that; there is something else for you to do. I saw them pull up bags of mail, and the water running out of the bottom of them.”

Norman Chambers gave evidence on Day 13 of the US Enquiry. Edmund Stone was mentioned in this:

Then my wife and myself returned in the direction of our stateroom, a matter of a few yards away only, and as we were going down our own alleyway to the stateroom door our steward came by and told us that we could go back to bed again; that there was no danger. In this I agreed with him, personally.

But more controversially later on his testimony he gave the following:

“I may say that my own room steward complained to me on the second day out that he did not know where anything was on the ship, and that no one would tell him”

The collection itself comprises of the master key for cabins E-1-E42, which would have been used by Mr Stone in the hours before Titanic was lost to gain access to these cabins and possibly secure them after they were vacated.   His duties would have included attending to the safety of his passengers and also ensure that they had put on their lifejackets and suitably warm clothing after vacating their cabins prior to leaving the sinking Titanic. The key itself is unique and carries a small brass tag showing its use. Other items include his pocket knife, steward’s pencil which would have been used to take orders and also his pocket watch and chain. The hands and movement are frozen in time at 2.16, capturing forever the moment that Edmund Stone entered the freezing North Atlantic. A letter from the White Star Line to Mr Stone’s widow on May 23^rd with the archive callously says “Advise you that the body of your husband has been identified and buried at sea, the condition of the body unfortunately not permitting its removal to Halifax for burial”.

Mr Stone’s body was recovered by the Mackay Bennett and buried at sea on Sunday 21^st April. He was allocated the number 41 and all of his possessions were gathered together in a canvas bag bearing this number and sent back to his widow. This small canvas bag is included in the sale together with some paperwork that was also recovered from his body. It includes the original receipt for his White Star Line steward’s uniform worn on Titanic and most ironically a memorandum from the P&O Company rejecting a job application. If this had been accepted he would no doubt have been never have sailed on Titanic.

The pre sale estimate on the collection is £80000-£120000.

For press and all other enquiries, please contact Andrew Aldridge BA Hons MRICS, Chartered Valuation Surveyor on 01380 729199.