LONDON — A gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic offered at public sale for almost $2 million, setting a file for memorabilia from the ship wreck.
The 18-carat Tiffany & Co. watch was given by three girls survivors to Capt. Arthur Rostron for diverting his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save lots of them and others after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank within the north Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912.
Auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, who offered the watch to a personal collector in the US on Saturday for 1.56 million British kilos, stated it’s probably the most paid for a chunk of Titanic memorabilia. The worth contains taxes and costs paid by the customer.
The watch was given to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man to die within the catastrophe, and the widows of two different rich businessmen who went down with the ship.
Astor’s pocket watch, which was on his physique when it was recovered seven days after the ship sank, had beforehand set the file for the best value paid for a Titanic memento, fetching almost $1.5 million (1.17 million kilos) from the identical public sale home in April.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge stated the truth that Titanic memorabilia has set two data this yr demonstrates the enduring fascination with the story and the worth of the dwindling provide and excessive demand for ship artifacts.
“Each man, girl and youngster had a narrative to inform, and people tales are instructed over a century later by the memorabilia,” he stated.
Rostron was hailed a hero for his actions the evening the Titanic sank and his crew was acknowledged for his or her bravery.
The Carpathia was crusing from New York to the Mediterranean Sea when a radio operator heard a misery name from the Titanic within the early hours of April 15, 1912 and woke Rostron in his cabin. He turned his boat round and headed at full steam towards the doomed vessel, navigating by ice bergs to get there.
By the point the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had sunk and 1,500 folks perished. However the crew situated 20 lifeboats and rescued greater than 700 passengers and took them again to New York.
Rostron was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal by President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.
Madeleine Astor, who had been helped right into a lifeboat by her husband, introduced the watch to Rostron at a luncheon at her mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York.
The inscription says it was given “with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors.” It lists Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener alongside Astor’s married identify.
“It was introduced principally in gratitude for Rostron’s bravery in saving these lives,” Aldridge stated. “With out Mr. Rostron, these 700 folks wouldn’t have made it.”
