A label from a parcel destined for an officer on-board the ill-fated Titanic has just been put up for auction.
Addressed to “Marconi Officer, RMS Titanic” and stamped one hundred and three years ago on the 11th of April 1912 – just one day after the ill-fated ship was to set sail.
No-one is aware of what the parcel originally contained but according to the valuer it had just missed the ship by a few hours!
Haslemere auctioneer John Nicholson will start the bidding at £500 but he said he “hasn’t got a clue” over how much it is actually worth but he’s hoping it will interest Titanic enthusiasts.
It had been described as an “important piece of maritime history and of Titanic interest”.
The package includes photographs of Marconi’s telegraph operator; Alec Bagot and the telegraph equipment aboard Titanic’s sister ship, RMS Olympic.
Valuer Gordon Patrick reported that it was given to the vendor’s mother, who lived in Southampton at the time and passed away in 1972.
He said: “It was given to her by the first officer of the Olympic, the Titanic’s sister ship, who was a friend of hers.
“We don’t know what was in the parcel, but they think it missed the ship by a couple of hours.”
He believes a collector will snap up the memorabilia. He said: “It’s quite exciting – there’s real Titanic mania.”
You may wonder who would pay even £500 for a parcel that didn’t even reach the ship but Titanic memorabilia still continues to be incredibly popular.
In 2014 the last letter to ever be written on the vessel sold for a whopping £199,000 at auction!
Previous to that a menu from the day of the disaster sold for £76,000 whilst a violin that was played as the ship sank went for £900,000!
What lengths would you go to in order to get your hands on a piece of Titanic memorabilia?
Let us know in the comments below…
