New York

Letter Penned a Day Before Titanic Sank Sold at UK Auction for $166K

Auction house Henry Aldridge & Son, which specializes in Titanic memorabilia, said Saturday the letter was "the most important Titanic letter we have ever auctioned"

A letter written by one of the Titanic's passengers a day before the ship sank has sold for 126,000 pounds, or $166,000, at an auction in England.

The handwritten note, on embossed Titanic stationery, was penned by first class passenger Alexander Oskar Holverson on April 13, 1912 — the day before the ship hit an iceberg and sank, killing more than 1,500 onboard.

Holverson, a salesman, had intended to post it to his mother in New York. The letter, one of the last known to have been written on board by the disaster's victims, was found when Holverson's body was recovered and was sent to his family.

Auction house Henry Aldridge & Son, which specializes in Titanic memorabilia, said Saturday the letter was "the most important Titanic letter we have ever auctioned."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us