By IANS,
London : A letter written by a man aboard the Titanic to his wife, saying he did not like leaving her behind, sold for 55,000 pounds Sunday, a media report said.
The letter, written by first-class passenger Adolphe Saafeld, to his “wifey”, gives a rare glimpse into the day-to-day life on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912 taking down 1,517 people with it.
The letter was one of 350 White Star Line memorabilia sold Sunday to an unidentified museum in Britain, which is yet to formally announce its purchase, the Telegraph reported Sunday.
“The content is superb. It gives a real first person perspective of what life was like on-board, through the eyes of a first-class passenger, right down to the food, the size of the cabin and the decoration,” Andrew Aldridge, an auctioneer was quoted as saying.
The letter tells of Saafeld’s approval of a “luncheon” featuring soup, fillet of plaice, a loin chop with cauliflower and fried potatoes, Apple Manhattan and Roquefort cheese, “washed down with a large Spaten beer iced”.
The passenger also talks of the smoothness of the journey: “But for a slight vibration, you would not know that you are at sea.”
“The weather is calm and fine, the sky overcast. There are only 370 First Class passengers. So far the boat does not move and goes very steadily. It is not nice to travel alone and leave you behind. I think you will have to come next time.”
A bunch of keys belonging to an officer transferred from the Titanic at the last minute, fetched 54,000 pounds.
Officer David Blair sailed with the ship from Belfast to Southampton, but was moved on to another ship at short notice, taking the bunch of keys with him – a move which may have saved his life.
A few photographs of the Titanic’s passengers and crew were sold to various collectors for over 100,000 pounds.