Unsinkable history: priceless relics of the Titanic

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The tragedy that took place on the night of April 14-15 more than a hundred years ago struck everyone to the core. Much time has passed since then, but people continue to discuss the details of the terrible incident and revisit the famous film, which has become one of the most profitable in the history of world cinema.

It is not surprising that finds from the ship or from people who managed to survive are of even greater interest in all countries of the world. The total value of items found and recovered from depth is about $ 100 million. Auctions are enriched by many different things.

1. Piece of history

When the Titanic crashed, news quickly spread throughout the world. In all countries in 1912, people read newspapers and passed details by word of mouth, amazed at the greatness and scale of the tragedy. More than one person dreams of getting a piece of history, therefore, at auctions around the world, any items from the famous "drowned man" arouse keen interest and can be sold for fabulous sums. What can we say, if the film "Titanic" released in 1997, even after 5 years with its 200 million budget, was able to make a profit in the form of box office receipts of 2,187 million.

Interesting information from Novate.ru:In 1998, Titanic was nominated for the prestigious Oscar in 14 nominations. This is an outstanding result in itself, but the result amazed everyone: the film received as many as 11 statuettes, the most important of which was the 1997 Best Film.

2. Crash site

Only in 1985 was the exact place at the bottom of the ocean discovered, where the great "Titanic" found its last resting place. A single team of American and French forwarders managed to find it. The leader of the expedition was a rather popular hunter for underwater treasures, professor of oceanology Robert Ballard. Since 1985, over 5 thousand items have been delivered to land from the famous liner. Many of them were subsequently sold off at auctions. The list of items is quite extensive, so we propose to consider only a few of them that have their own, special history.

3. Two bronze plaques

In 2006, at an auction in New York, two bronze plaques were put up for sale, which caused a tangible resonance. Each of them had its own special inscription: "Liverpool" and "S. S. Titanic ". It is not surprising that there were rich people who were not stingy to give 60,000 and 72,000 dollars for them, respectively.

4. Not cheap watches

The watch of Edmund Stone - the first class steward - was sold for only 154 thousand dollars at auction. It would seem that it is often a pity to pay that kind of money for a new, well-working watch, but here they bought broken ones. The main feature of this watch is that the time of the catastrophe is forever imprinted on it - 2 hours 16 minutes. They stopped walking exactly at the moment when Edmund Stone was swallowed up by the abyss of icy water.

5. Strength of the spirit

The surviving eyewitnesses of the tragedy talked a lot about the amazingly strong spirit the orchestra on board the Titanic was. Despite the unfolding tragedy, the musicians played until the last possible moment to cheer and instill hope in the passengers of the liner. At one of the auctions in London, a violin of one of Wallace Hartley's musicians was sold, which he tied to himself just before his death. He treasured this musical object very much, since his bride gave it to him. The lot went to a new living owner for only 900 thousand pounds.

6. The last survivor

Millwina Dean is a young passenger of the famous Titanic liner, who in 1912 was only two and a half months old. That's what is called, the child was born in a shirt. In 2009, the British auction house "Henry Aldridge & Son" put up for sale a couple of items that belonged to a lucky girl. At the time of this event, Millvina Dean was already 97 years old. Despite the expected excitement, no one really appreciated the lots. But one auction participant was touched by the unexpected reason why the woman decided to part with things that were dear to her heart - she was selling them to pay for her living in a nursing home. The noble gesture cost him 1,500 pounds, after which he presented the newly purchased canvas bag, in which the girl survived in the lifeboat, back to its owner.

7. Entrepreneurial vein

Entrepreneur George Tullock has repeatedly equipped expeditions to the sunken Titanic. On all attempts to find something of value, he spent a total of over $ 20 million. However, he managed to recover all his expenses and even made a solid profit. He was able to make money even on coal, which was raised from the sunken ship. The small pieces were carefully packed in boxes and sold for $ 25 each.

8. Theft

Unfortunately, not all items from the Titanic were acquired honestly. Many of them have been stolen. One such incident occurred in 2001 at the American Opryland Hotel (Nashville, Tennessee). There was an exhibition of items from the sunken ship, and impious people stole 9 paper bills and 10 coins.