“Black Panther” may have just passed “Titanic” in all-time box office earnings, but the stories from the Titanic still continue to fascinate more than 100 years after the doomed ocean liner struck an iceberg.
Next week, snapshots of what life was like on board the ship will be going up for auction by British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son. The items include dispatches like a postcard from 17-year-old passenger Thomas Mudd, who tells his mother: “Arrived at South Hampton safe, the Titanic is a splendid boat and you hardly know you are moving.”
Thomas Mudd’s postcard to his mother
Second-class passenger Kate Buss’s letter to her brother is written on Titanic stationery. She writes, “The first class apartments are really magnificent and unless you had first seen them you would think the second were the same.”
Buss also mentions dining with two clergymen. One of them was likely Father Thomas Byles whose bravery in comforting his fellow passengers was depicted in the film. Buss survived the wreck, and lived another 60 years until the age of 96.
“Why people collect Titanic memorabilia, is they’re interested in the human side. The human angle, the people behind the big story,” said Andrew Aldridge of British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son
The priciest item up for auction is the menu from the first meal on the Titanic. It was served during the ship’s sea trials in early April of 1912. It promises a feast of salmon, roast chicken, and golden plover on toast.
Kate Buss’s letter written on Titanic stationery
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