A letter written by a passenger on the Titanic, just days before the disaster, will soon be put up for auction, potentially reaching US$47,000.
Signed Henry Hodges and dated April 10, 1912, this letter tells his friend Hector how he had a “great time” on board the liner, according to the British auction house Henry Aldridge and Son.
“So far you see nothing of the movement of the ship, but the weather is very good,” it reads.
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Hodges also describes the mood on board. “On the upper deck, there are about 200 boys (aged 20 and over) parading and singing, others playing dominoes and cards in the saloons, some reading, others writing, everything is very different from what we expect to see at sea,” he adds.
The ship left Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 10, 1912. Four days later, at 11:40 p.m., it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank in less than three hours, taking more than 1,500 people with it.
A letter written by a Titanic passenger before the disaster (dated April 10, 1912)
Photo taken from the Henry Aldridge & Son website
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge considers this letter “exceptional on several levels”. Interviewed by CNN, he emphasizes that it reveals details about “the inner workings of life on board”, making it absolutely “fascinating”.
Hodges was traveling second class, for pleasure, with the intention of visiting friends in Boston. “There is a lack of documents concerning second class passengers,” notes Mr. Aldridge, which further reinforces the rarity of the document.
Never put on sale until now, the letter will be auctioned on Sunday.
The highest bid recorded to date was US$35,000.
