Titanic Survivor's Life Jacket Fetches Record £670,000 at Auction
A life jacket worn by a survivor of the Titanic disaster has sold for an astonishing £670,000 at auction, smashing pre-sale estimates and highlighting the enduring fascination with the ill-fated liner. The vest was used by first-class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli aboard lifeboat number one and bears the signatures of eight fellow survivors, including firemen Charles Hendrickson and George Taylor, and able seaman James Horswill.
Historic Auction in Devizes
Saturday's auction at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, featured 344 lots, with about 15 items directly from the Titanic and roughly half related to the vessel's broader story. The final sale prices include the buyer's premium, reflecting intense competition among collectors and museums.
Managing director Andrew Aldridge told the Press Association: "I think these record-breaking prices reflect the ongoing interest in not only the Titanic story, but also her passengers and crew. Their memories are immortalised by these items of memorabilia."
Rarity and Provenance of the Life Jacket
The life jacket, expected to fetch up to £350,000, is a rare example because it is one of the few remaining original life jackets where the wearer is identifiable. Made by Fosbery & Co, it comprises 12 cork-filled canvas pockets with shoulder rests and side straps. The lot also included a newspaper photograph of the lifeboat number one group who survived after the liner sank in April 1912, costing 1,500 lives.
Ms Francatelli was the secretary to fashion designer Lady Lucy Duff Gordon and was accompanied on the trip by Lady Lucy's husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon. Following the disaster, she wrote at least two accounts of her experiences and became a central figure in a controversial episode when occupants of lifeboat number one opted not to return to rescue people floating in the icy sea.
Other Notable Sales
In the same auction, a watch recovered from the body of wealthy businessman Frederick Sutton, who drowned in the sinking, sold for £180,000. The 18-carat gold case pocket watch is heavily dented, with the face bearing scars from the trauma. The hour and minute hands are missing, but the second hand remains, frozen in time by the cold North Atlantic water.
Mr Sutton, born in Suffolk and settled in New Jersey, had travelled to England for health reasons and was returning to the US on the Titanic. His body was buried at sea, and his effects were collected by his family, remaining with descendants until the auction. The watch was estimated to sell between £50,000 and £80,000.
Lifeboat Cushion Acquired by Museum
A seat cushion from one of the lifeboats, featuring an original Titanic lifeboat plaque in the form of a White Star burgee, sold for £390,000. Its buyer was the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, with plans to exhibit the item.
The cushion, made of canvas, was taken from one of the 13 lifeboats that brought survivors to the rescue ship, the SS Carpathia. It is complete with four intact brass eyelets and was sold alongside an original length of rope from the ship and documents verifying its authenticity.
Originally purchased by the friend of a London tea importer who drowned, Richard William Smith, the cushion was bought by his friend TG Matthews when first put up for sale by Meyer-Forest Corporation, a prominent steamship supplies company.
