A letter written aboard the Titanic the day before its fatal collision will appear at auction later this month.
Titanic specialists Henry Aldridge & Son will offer the piece on October 21, with an estimate of around £80,000 ($106,272).
This letter was recovered from Holverson's body
The writer was a man named Alexander Oskar Holverson, a 42 year old travelling shirt salesman. The letter, dated April 13, 1912, is addressed to his mother and includes some remarkable detail on life aboard the ship.
He writes (sic): “this boat is giant in size and fitted up like a palacial hotel. The food and music is excellent”.
Holverson intended to post the letter on his arrival in New York. Sadly he never made it. He was one of the 1,517 passengers and crew to lose their lives in the tragedy.
Auctioneer Henry Aldridge said: “Since this one was recovered from Mr Holverson's body he obviously had hoped to send it on to his mother from New York...
“If this letter was virtually unreadable it would still rank amongst the most desirable. Yet the content takes it to another level.
“It is the only letter to be written on April 13 that has been recovered and the only letter written on board Titanic stationary to have been recovered from a victim...
“It also gives us an unparalleled snapshot into life on board this liner for first class passengers.”
The record for a Titanic letter stands at £119,000 ($158,472), set for the one written by survivor Esther Hart in the hours before the ship went down.
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