Unveiling the Intact Titanic First-Class Menu: An Insight into Life on Board

The Titanic's rare first-class menu, stained and partially erased, is expected to sell for up to £70,000 ($86,000) at an auction of memorabilia linked to the ill-fated ocean liner. The British auction house, Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd., mentioned that due to its water damage and eroded lettering, it is believed that this menu spent some time in the North Atlantic after the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.

The menu that was ultimately saved showcases the lavishness of the first dinner served on the Titanic as it embarked on its journey from Queenstown, Belfast. This artifact provides a glimpse into the opulent experience that the ship's first-class passengers would have enjoyed.

The tartan blanket was recovered from one of the lifeboats.

Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd

On the evening of April 11th, the dinner choices consisted of oysters, sirloin of beef accompanied by horseradish cream and pureed parsnips. The delightful selection of desserts featured apricot Bordaloue, a delectable tart, and Victoria pudding. Our investigation, in collaboration with Titanic collections from various museums and esteemed memorabilia collectors, revealed that no other existing samples of the first-class menu from that particular night have been discovered.

Other items in the auction offer a fleeting glimpse into the lives of the 2,223 passengers and crew on board the Titanic, of whom just 706 survived.

The pocket watch belonged to a second-class passenger named Sinai Kantor.

Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd

The auction house described the tartan blanket used by a survivor to keep warm in a lifeboat as one of the most unique three-dimensional objects they have encountered. It is anticipated to fetch a price of up to £100,000 ($123,000). According to the auction house, the blanket was previously owned by Frederick Toppin, who obtained it at a New York pier while meeting the rescued passengers as Assistant General Manager of the company that owned the Titanic.

But out of the total number of people on board the Titanic, 1,517 tragically lost their lives. Among them was Sinai Kantor, a Russian immigrant traveling in second class, whose pocket watch serves as a poignant reminder of the moment he entered the water and met his unfortunate demise.

Additionally, a facing slip, originally intended to label bundles of mail, is now a poignant symbol of the fate of the postal clerks on board. Tragically, all of them perished while bravely trying to transport mail sacks to the upper decks of the ship, in an attempt to protect them from the flooding. This heartbreaking detail was shared by the auction house.