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Titanic band leader letter has $200,000 estimate ahead of auction
The bravery of the Titanic band is expected to boost the asking price of this historic letter home
Paul Fraser Collectibles, Monday 26 March 2012
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A letter from the leader of Titanic's band, which played on as the ship sank, is coming for auction in the US next month.
Survivors in lifeboats are said to have recalled the band playing Nearer, My God, to Thee, before being swept into the icy waters.
The letter, written by band leader Wallace Hartley to his parents in England, is dated April 10, 1912, five days before the ship sank in the Atlantic.
"Just a line to say we have got away all right," it reads.
"It's been a bit of a rush but I am just getting a little settled. This is a fine ship & there ought to be plenty of money on her.
"We have a fine band & the boys seem very nice."
It's expected to realise between $100,000-200,000 at an online auction ending on April 26.
 "We have a fine band & the boys seem very nice." |
Hartley's body was found many weeks after the tragedy. More than 40,000 people lined the route of his cortege.
Titanic artefacts have a strong history of performing well with collectors.
A two-page handwritten letter written aboard RMS Titanic achieved $40,700 at a New York auction house earlier this month.
The fascinating tale of the band is likely to push the price of this piece much higher.
Paul Fraser Collectibles will be the place for all the Titanic auction results over the coming weeks, as the 100th anniversary of the sinking is commemorated on April 15.
The flurry of sales will include a single lot of 5,500 artefacts, worth an estimated $189m, which is open for bidding until April 2, with the result announced later in the month.
Recent and related articles
· Titanic passenger's letter sells for $40,700 in New York | 22 March 2012
· RMS Titanic rare manuscript by crewman Charles Morgan sells in UK | 12 March 2012
· 'Shipwrecked' Chateau Latour from an 1870s liner surfaces in Cheshire auction | 8 March 2012
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Images: RR Auction
