A PHOTOGRAPH appearing to show the iceberg that sank the Titanic is to go under the hammer.

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The picture was taken by the chief steward of a liner that passed the iceberg the day after the disaster in 1912 which claimed the lives of around 1,500 people.

He was still unaware of the sinking of the ill-fated ocean liner which set sail from Southampton but describes seeing scrapings of red paint on the side of the iceberg.

Now the photograph will go under auction at Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, on October 24 and is estimated to sell for between £10,000 to £15,000.

The picture taken by the chief steward of the passing Prinz Adalbert vessel will also be accompanied by a previously unpublished document he wrote of his account.

It follows a biscuit which survived the sinking the Titanic being placed to go under the hammer at the same auction.

The steward’s handwritten letter states: ''On the day after the sinking of the Titanic, the steamer Prinz Adalbert passes the iceberg shown in this photograph,'' it reads.

''The Titanic disaster was not yet known by us. On one side red paint was plainly visible, which has the appearance of having been made by the scraping of a vessel on the iceberg ''SS Prinz Adalbert Hamburg America Line.''

It is signed by the chief steward and three other crewmen.

The Titanic sank on April 14 1912 during its maiden voyage to New York from Southampton.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: ''The photograph was acquired not long after the Titanic's sinking by Burlingham, Montgomery & Beecher, attorneys for Titanic's owners, White Star Line.

''This photograph, regarded by generations of Burlingham maritime lawyers as 'The Titanic Iceberg' hung on the firm's walls from 1913 until it closed its doors in 2002.

''It is now being offered for sale on behalf of the four attorneys who were still partners of the firm at the time of its demise.''

The Spillers and Bakers 'Pilot' biscuit was part of a survival kit stored within one of the ill-fated ocean liner’s lifeboats and was kept as a souvenir.

The biscuit will be sold with the Fenwick archive – a unique photographic history of the rescue of survivors.

Mr Fenwick and his newlywed wife Mabel were embarking on a honeymoon trip to Europe and had reached New York on April 11 1912, little knowing that four days later the Carpathia would be the saviour of over 700 Titanic survivors.

The collection is being sold by a descendant of the Fenwicks and photographic negatives included offer a unique snapshot into the rescue, showing the first sightings of the lifeboats, survivors on the Carpathia, their arrival in New York and the SS Californian arriving at the scene of the rescue.

The photograph of the SS Californian has been described ‘’one of maritime history’s most dramatic photos’’.

The story of the Californian is one the most controversial in Titanic’s tragic loss as the captain was blamed for not reacting more quickly to the disaster.

Also being sold as part of the collection is an unpublished account of the rescue of the survivors written by Mr Fenwick.