Price Soars: Exceptional Titanic Menu Documents Life Aboard, Fetches More Than $100,000
Discover the captivating rarity of a water-damaged Titanic menu, offering a fascinating glimpse into the lavishness experienced by first-class passengers on the ill-fated luxury ship
Editors Note: This article has been revised to include the final sale price and additional details from the conclusion of the auction.
A vintage and highly sought-after first-class menu from the Titanic was sold for an impressive £83,000 ($102,000) on Saturday during an auction featuring various artifacts linked to the ill-fated ocean liner.
The menu, heavily water-stained and with partially erased lettering, is believed to have been found in the North Atlantic following the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. British auction house Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd. stated in the lot description that the menu provides a glimpse into the lavish dining experience enjoyed by first-class passengers on the ship's maiden voyage from Queenstown, Belfast.
A tartan blanket recovered from one of the lifeboats fetched £96,000 ($117,000).
On the evening of April 11th, dinner choices at Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd consisted of oysters, horseradish cream-infused sirloin of beef accompanied by puréed parsnips, alongside delectable desserts such as apricot Bordalouea tart and Victoria pudding.
No other existing examples of the first-class menu for that particular evening could be found by the auction house, even after seeking advice from Titanic museum collections and esteemed memorabilia collectors. The rest of the items available at the auction provide a momentary glimpse into the lives of the 2,223 individuals, including passengers and crew, who were aboard the Titanic, with only 706 managing to survive.
A pocket watch belonging to a second-class passenger named Sinai Kantor sold for £97,000 ($119,000).
The auction house, Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd, described a tartan blanket used by a survivor to keep warm in a lifeboat as "one of the most exceptional three-dimensional items we have encountered." This unique piece fetched a staggering £96,000 ($117,000) when sold.
The blanket, previously owned by Frederick Toppin, Assistant General Manager in New York for the company that owned the Titanic, was acquired by him at a New York pier where he met rescued passengers coming ashore. This information was provided by the auction house prior to the sale on Saturday.
Unfortunately, out of the 1,517 people on board the Titanic, many did not survive. Among them was Sinai Kantor, a Russian immigrant traveling in second class, whose pocket watch indicates the moment he entered the water and later died. The pocket watch sold for £97,000 ($119,000) and became the highest-priced item sold at the auction on Saturday.
The auction house also listed a facing slip, which was used to label bundles of mail. This particular slip drew attention to the tragic fate of the postal clerks on board the ship, who unfortunately lost their lives while trying to transport mail sacks to the upper decks in an effort to protect them from flooding.
