Most Expensive Titanic Letter Ever Sold At Auction

NEW YORK, NY, USA -- A letter, dated April 10, 1912, from a first class passenger onboard the Titanic (written by passenger George Graham of Harriston of Canada, a sales manager for the Eaton's department store company, to a business colleague in Berlin, Germany) was sold at auction by Spink Smythe in New York City for $16,100-setting the world record for the Most expensive letter from Titanic.


George Graham wrote: "I am sorry that I neglected to send you a wire on the first of April but I forgot all about it until Tuesday, you see.
I arrived in London Late Sunday and I was very busy all day Monday and I forgot all about it however, I hope that you will accept my good wishes now even if they are a bit late.
I hope to see you next year and that you and your good wife will enjoy good health."

Second page folds closed to form a postal cover with White Star's logo on verso of cover and a 2-1/2 penny stamp on the address leaf. Uneven toning to first page and address page from prior display.
Four plastic tape remnants on verso of first page and five on recto of second page, all at edges and none affecting readability.


Otherwise VG. Mr. Graham joined the Titanic at Southampton with first-class ticket 112053 and was berthed in cabin B-52.

On her maiden voyage the Titanic struck a North Atlantic iceberg and sank within hours early on the morning of April 14, 1912.

The letter in the auction was placed in the mail from Southhampton, England just prior to the ship's departure on April 10 for its never-completed trans-Atlantic crossing to New York City. (enlarge photo)

Graham did not survive the sinking.
"Hours before the ship struck an iceberg, Graham wired his wife back in Canada saying he was well and indicating he would be in New York City on Wednesday.
She received the wire on Tuesday morning, when news of the disaster was on everyone's lips, and mistakenly took it to mean her husband survived," explained Litzenberger.

"Days later she was informed his body had been recovered from the North Atlantic."

Letters written aboard the Titanic are among the most scarce and desirable articles connected with the tragedy.

About Spink
Spink is the world's leading auctioneer of coins, stamps, medals, banknotes, bonds, share certificates and autographs, with offices in London, Singapore, New York and Dallas.

The Last Survivor

Elizabeth Gladys (Milvina Dean) was born on February 2, 1912 in London, England. Her parents were Bertram Frank Dean and Georgetta Eva Light. She had an older brother, also named Bertram, who was born in 1910. Ms. Dean's parents decided to immigrate to Wichita, Kansas later that same year, so that her father could open a tobacco shop. Her father saved and saved money, until he got his ticket to a new life. Mr. Dean got a ticket on another ship, but were transferred to the Titanic due to a coal strike in 3rd class. The Titanic set sail when she was only 9 weeks old. She and all her family had 3rd class all the way, which was like 2nd class in most ships. The Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. Her family was woken up by a steward, told to put their lifejackets on, and go up on deck. The family made it up to the boat deck where Georgette, Bertram Jr., and Millvina were put into the lifeboat while her father was left on the sinking ship. No one knows what happened to Bertram Sr. after that, except that he unfortunately died. Mrs. Dean was holding Millvina, and realized that she didn't have her brother Bertram Jr. They later found him on the rescue ship Carpathia. He had been cared for by another passenger. The passengers took turns holding Millvina, and taking care of her. When the Carpathia docked, the company that owned Titanic called the White Star Line, provided passage back to England for those that wanted to return. The Deans returned to England after learning that their father and husband died, on the Adriatic. Mrs. Dean worked to support her family, and Millvina grew up not knowing about the Titanic or, that she lost her father on it. It was not until she was 8, that she knew about the disaster, when her mother Georgetta planned to remarry. Millvina Dean never married, but worked for the government. She drew maps during WWII, and worked in the purchasing department of the engineering firm. She later became a celebrity when she was in her 70s. She completed her family journey in 1997 on the Queen Elizabeth 2, and was invited to see the Titanic movie by James Cameron in a private viewing with Prince Charles on Whales. She refused, especially after seeing A Night To Remember in the 50s. She didn't like that they supposedly "publicized the deaths of 1,500 people". As of 2007, she was the last living survivor. She had no memory of the disaster however. Recently, she had to sell a suitcase and some clothing that were donated by the people of America, to pay for her keep at a nursing home. Later, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet donated $30,000 (her bill was 3,000 pounds per month). However, she died later that year (of an infection in her lungs caused by pneumonia) on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97 on the 98th anniversary of the Titanic's launching.

Titanic Survivor Accounts

Titanic Survivors: What They Saw

Titanic Survivors: What they Saw 2

(Above is the accounts of Joseph Boxhall, Eva Hart, Ruth Becker, and Edith Haisman)

Ruth Becker account

Marjorie Newell Account

Millvina Dean Story

Survivors on the "A Night To Remember Set"

Above in "A Night To Remember Set", the people seen are Lawrence Beasely, Edith Russell, Edmund Navatril, and Frank Goldsmith. The others, I can't identify.

Survivor's Voices

Edith Russell Account

Survivor Accounts

Charles Lightoller Account

Titanic Documentaries

Deep Inside Titanic 1

Deep Inside Titanic 2

Deep Inside Titanic 3

Deep Inside Titanic 4

Deep Inside Titanic 5


Titanic: The Legend Lives On 1

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 2

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 3

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 4

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 5

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 6

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 7

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 8

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 9

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 10

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 11

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 12

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 13

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 14

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 15

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 16

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 17

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 18

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 19

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 20


Last Mysteries of the Titanic 1

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 2

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 3

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 4

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 5

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 6

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 7

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 8

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 9


Last Secret of the Titanic 1

Last Secrets of the Titanic 2

Last Secrets of the Titanic 3

Last Secrets of the Titanic 4

Last Secrets of the Titanic 5

Last Secrets of the Titanic 6

Titanic Untold Stories 1

Titanic Untold Stories 2

Titanic Untold Stories 3

Titanic Untold Stories 4

Titanic Untold Stories 5

Titanic Untold Stories 6

More Lifeboats?

Many people say that if the Titanic had enough lifeboats to save everyone, no one would have died. That is in fact, not the case. The Titanic sank in nearly 2 1/2 hours, and that isn't enough time to launch all the lifeboats in my opinion. Yes, they could have saved more lives. The evidence I have to support my theory, is that by the time the water reached the boat deck, the last two lifeboats were being taken off of the roof officer's quarters had there been 40 or 50 to sustain all lives, I estimate that only around 22-25 lifeboats would've either been launched or floated off. So, that's only a little difference between the 20 taken off the ship (2 floated off). All that to say, the Titanic sank very quickly once it got just above the boat deck, which was time to launch a few boats but not very many as to the slanting/listing towards the bow.

The A La Carte Restaurant

The A La Carte Restaurant was located between the third and fourth funnel on B-Deck, and was very grand. It had french walnut paneling, with gilt and elegant carvings. It was not owned by the White Star Line, but was a french restaurant. It was used for lunches, dinners, and parties. On April 14, 1912, wealthy Pennsylvanians George and Eleanor Widener hosted a dinner party dedicated to Captain Smith since this was his last voyage. This is the only recollection of the room, before the ship sank. As the Titanic was sinking, a 3rd class girl recalled asking her mother if she could break a window, go through it to see all the 1st class finery inside it. Her mother still believing that the ship was not sinking, told her that she might have to pay for it after wards. The room was in the middle of the place where the ship broke apart, and there is nothing left but some china on the seabed. However, you can see the panels from the Olympic in a small castle dining room in England and on board a cruise ship.

Is the Titanic Disappearing?

Sadly, yes. The Titanic is already collapsing even as we are sitting here, and there's nothing we can do about it. The rust covered hull is slowly being eaten away by bacteria, and it eventually it'll be an orange spot on the bottom. The stern will no doubt, be the first to go. A-Deck where the Cafe Veranda once was has already collapsed, and there is increasing pressure on the superstructure. In the bow, the crow's nest that held Fredrick Fleet high above the decks is now gone, probably fallen into the cargo hold over which it fell with the mast. The mast itself is crumpling, and starting to collapse. The walls that were partially collapsed when discovered, are flat on what's left of the deck and you can see into the Captain's living quarters and the few remains of the chart room. The area around the Grand Staircase is mangled and collapsing because there have been too many submersibles landing on the weakening decks, and the decks all over are starting to collapse because of not only the years of lying on the bottom, but because there have been too many submersibles landing on them. We are speeding up the process of the Titanic's destruction, and there must be less visits to the legendary vessel, in order to slow the process. The sediment is fine, but the actual hull is going to be gone if we don't do something. Once the Titanic gone, it's gone and it won't be coming back ever again.

American researchers are firing back at a Swiss university researcher's report that “politeness” led to deaths of 225 British passengers on Titanic

Professor Bruno Frey of the University of Zurich claims that the British passengers on the doomed cruise liner perished in the 1912 disaster because they were polite and willing to stand in line while American passengers pushed their way to the front and were placed in lifeboats.

While “women and children first” was followed as the "unsinkable" cruise ship hit an iceberg and fell to the floor of the Atlantic, Frey claims that many Britons lost their lives because they were courteous, while "uncultured" Americans were more likely to push ahead in line.

"The British were much more aware of the social norms at the time," Frey told the U.K.’s Daily Mail newspaper. "They would have been more likely to stand in a queue and wait their turn for boarding the lifeboats than Americans."

But American researchers say Frey’s claim is an example of Brits putting themselves on a pedestal.

"It sounds like post-modern revisionist history," said Karen Kamuda of the Massachusetts-based Titanic Historical Society. "To say that Americans act a certain way and the British act a certain way is racist."

Ithaca College social sciences librarian John R. Henderson, who compiled a comprehensive report on the Titanic, suggests that the percentage of casualties on the ship was based more on social status than race. The ship had been divided into three classes based on wealth.

The third class, which was most affordable, had the greatest concentration of immigrants. Only 25 percent of the passengers in the third class made it out alive, according to Henderson’s research. This was possibly due to the fact that there was no public address system in place on the Titanic. The third class also had less access to lifeboats.

"The first class lifeboats were gone by the time the third class was even told [that the ship was going down]," Henderson said.

The Titanic was making its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Harbor with 2,014 people aboard in April 1912 when it hit an iceberg in the northern Atlantic. The death toll from the disaster, one of the worst in maritime history, was 1,509 people. Seventy-two percent of its women passengers and 50 percent of the children on board reportedly survived.

(This article is from Fox News.com).

A Night To Remember: The Movie

The movie called A Night to Remember was made in 1958. It was directed by William McQuitty, and co directed by Walter Lord, the book that it's based off of. It is in my mind, the most accurate Titanic drama movie of all time. It begins with the launch, which has one of the few innacurate parts of the movie. it has a woman christening the Titanic, although the ship never was christened. The footage of the Titanic going down the gantry way into the sea, is actually the Queen Elizabeth. Next, they show the people from all lives leaving their homes along with their homes and friends, to go to America. After that, comes the main character of the movie, Charles Lightoller played by Kenneth More. We next go down to the docks where they introduce the other main characters of the ship, Thomas Andrews played by Micheal Goodliffe, J. Bruce Ismay played by Frank Lawton, and Captain Edward Smith played by Laurence Naismith. They show the Titanic leaving, using footage of the Titanic's sister ship, Olympic. The next scenes are of a ship that was about to be scrapped, that they bought and made into the hull of the ship. The scenes of the full Titanic, are actually an 11 foot model, and could be made to look like the actual thing, with it being in black and white. The sets were built with the greatest detail that the designers could use, that would be closest to the original, and they used the plans and photographs to create the sets. The people were dressed in period clothes, and they even brought survivors in, to see the sets and watch the production. Joseph Boxhall the 4th officer of the Titanic served as technical advisor. The passengers on the sets were Edith Russell, Lawrence Beasely, and several others. Mrs. Lightoller the wife of Charles Lightoller, came too. The survivors would walk around the boat decks, corridors, cabins, bridge, and engine room, lost in memories of their experiences. When they had Thomas Andrews in the Smoking Room, awaiting his fate, the place would creak and groan as the tilt grew. It was very dramatic, and you can hear it in the movie. They actually had the end of the movie where everyone is in the lifeboats of the water, in a lake during the winter. They did use precautions, and no one got hypothermia. The movie became the most popular movie of the decade. When the young survivors saw it, they were reminded a lot of their fathers, lost in the disaster. It's because of this that when Ms. Millvina Dean was invited to have a private viewing of the 1997 version with Prince Charles of Wales, she refused because she couldn't bear another movie like that. The movie had made Captain Stanley Lord, the captain of the Californian, a lazy man that didn't care about the ship that was firing white rockets. It has been unproven, and Captain Lord's family was quite upset. This movie was liked by most survivors however, and the audiences have loved it. If you are wanting to see the 1997 version but you don't want to watch it because of a few bad parts in it, try this movie. It's far better, and more accurate.b

Titanic Unit Study

When I first got interested in the Titanic, my Mom looked for a Titanic Unit Study, and couldn't find one. Now that I'm older, I'm making a Titanic Unit Study for others. I am open to any suggestions. If have any, just post a comment and I'll take your thoughts into serious consideration.