A unique collection of Titanic memorabilia, including a note from bandleader Wallace Hartley, will soon be up for grabs at an auction commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Titanic’s sinking.

“I see documents and handwritten letters every day and that one just blows me away,” said Bobby Livingston, vice president of RRAuction. “It’s amazing to have the last letter home from the guy in the band that played on.”

In the note written on Titanic letterhead, Hartley tells his parents in England that the Titanic is a fine ship and that his band mates seem very nice. Wallace also tells his family that he expects to be home soon.

“It’s been a bit of a rush but I am just getting a little settled,” he wrote. “This is a fine ship and there ought to be plenty of money on her ... We have a fine band & the boys seem very nice.”

The musician mailed the letter during one of the two stops the Titanic made before striking an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Hartley, who famously lead the band as the ship sank beneath the icy waves of the Atlantic, was one of the 1,517 souls who perished in the sinking. His letter is expected to fetch between $100,000 and $200,000. 

Other Titanic items headed to the auction block include an original fragment of the ship’s grand staircase, the kimono worn by First Class passenger Lady Duff Gordon as she escaped the sinking ship, telegrams sent from two survivors, a collar stud retrieved from the body of a Titanic victim, and much more.

Bidding for the commemorative auction will open on April 19th and will close on April 26th.

Source: Washington Post

Photo: RRAuction