Bid accepted for around 330,000 francs Record price at auction for postcard from a "Titanic" survivor

The postcard of a "Titanic" survivor, sent on the day the ship sailed, has been auctioned off in England for a record price. The letter from US first-class passenger Colonel Archibald Gracie fetched 300,000 pounds (around 330,000 Swiss francs).

Keystone-SDA

27.04.2025, 19:00

27.04.2025, 19:41

SDA

That is five times the estimated price of 60,000 pounds. Gracie, who later became famous for his book about the sinking of the "Titanic", "The Truth About The Titanic", wrote on the postcard: "She is a fine ship, but I shall wait for the end of my voyage before forming a judgment on her." - A statement that the Wiltshire-based auction house Henry Aldridge and Son described as "prophetic".

"Piece with museum value"

The British news agency PA quoted a statement from the auction house as saying that a document from a passenger of Gracie's stature almost never goes under the hammer. The historical document has also changed hands for the first time. The seller's great-uncle was an acquaintance of Gracie's and had received the mail at the Waldorf Hotel in London.

According to his own report, Gracie had spent most of his time on board the Titanic looking after unaccompanied ladies. On the day of the disaster, April 14, 1912, four days after the ship sailed, he played squash, swam in the pool and went to church.

After the collision with the iceberg, which woke him up at night, he helped women and children onto lifeboats before rescuing himself onto an overturned folding boat. Although he survived the disaster, Gracie died just months later in December 1912.

The "Titanic" set sail from Southampton in the south of England on April 10, 1912 with more than 2,200 people on board for its maiden voyage to New York. After just a few days, the luxury liner, which was considered unsinkable, struck an iceberg - and sank. More than 1,500 people died.