Two rare artifacts from the infamous RMS Titanic are going up for auction this week, according to U.K.-based auction house Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd. The auction will feature a unique first-class menu from the dinner that took place on April 11, 1912, along with a pocket watch owned by a second-class passenger. The opening bid for both of these unique auction items is £30,000, but could sell for upwards of £80,000.
The first-class menu offers a snapshot into the glamour and opulent culinary delights that Titanic’s first class passengers would have experienced on the evening of April 11th. The menu has sustained signs of water immersion, pointing to its exposure to the icy North Atlantic waters on the morning of April 15th, 1912. According to the auction house, it is the only surviving example of a first-class dinner menu from the night of April 11.
The menu likely served some of the ship’s most respected guests, including John Jacob Astor and Madeleine Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, Sir Cosmo, Lady Duff Gordon, the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”, and Isador and Ida Straus.
The pocket watch owned by second-class passenger Sinai Kantor, features numerals written in Hebrew figures and an image of Moses holding the Ten Commandments embossed on the back. The watch’s movement is heavily corroded as a result of immersion in saltwater, with the hands nearly deteriorated and the dial heavily stained.
The auction will take place on Nov. 11 at 12:00 p.m. GMT, with the opening bid for both artifacts starting at £30,000. The menu is expected to sell for upwards of £70,000 while the watch may be auctioned for nearly £80,000.
For those interested in owning a piece of history from the Titanic, this auction is an opportunity to do just that. The artifacts offer a unique and tangible connection to one of the most famous maritime disasters in history.