A postcard written by a passenger of the Titanic and sent just days before the doomed ship sank to the bottom of the ocean sold for thousands of dollars at auction over the weekend.
The postcard — part of a lot of Titanic memorabilia placed up for bidding Saturday — was mailed by first-class passenger and British businessman Richard William Smith from Cork, Ireland to Olive Dakin in Norwich, according to SWNS.
“Have had a fine run around to Queenstown. Just leaving for the land of stars and stripes,” Smith scrawled on the card. “Hope you are all quite well at home. Kindest regards, R.W.S.”
But Smith, a tea broker, never made it to America.
His note was postmarked April 11, 1912 — four days before the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic Ocean with Smith and 1,500 other passengers and crew members onboard.
Smith’s 112-year-old postcard was sold at auction for more than $12,000 — plus fees for a grand total of $25,000, according to SWNS.
The historic card was one of hundreds of Titanic artifacts that were auctioned off by Henry Aldrige & Son in its “Titanic, White Star and Transport Memorabilia” sale.
“It’s a very powerful and poignant object because this is one of the last things that Mr Smith wrote, first and foremost,” managing director of the auction house Andrew Aldrige told the outlet.
Another Titanic memorabilia was sold for an even higher price tag.
An 18ct gold Tiffany & Co pocket watch gifted to ocean liner captain Arthur Rostron — who was credited with saving the lives of 700 Titanic passengers — by three women he saved sold for a winning bid of $1.976 million, SWNS reported.
“Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912 Mrs John B. Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor and Mrs George D. Widener,” the inscription inside its case reads.
The three women’s husbands went down with the ship.
