Letter written on Titanic sells for record price at auction

Written by second-class passenger Henry Price Hodges, the letter sold for £60,000, nearly double its predicted value of £35,000.

The letter was addressed to Hodges’s friend, Hector Young, of the Newtown Conservative Association in Southampton.

Hodges boarded the ship in Southampton on a ticket that cost £13.

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Andrew Aldridge, an auctioneer at Henry Aldridge and Son, said: "The letter itself was written by a second class passenger so very rare indeed.

"But it is a record price for an onboard letter written by a second class passenger.

"This letter gives us a historically priceless snapshot into what life was like on board the most famous ship ever to take to the seas, for a second class passenger.

"He describes the ship and fellow passengers and how they passed the time.

"Yet a little over four days later the Titanic was lying at the bottom of the north Atlantic."

The letter is dated April 10 and was postmarked Queenstown.

Hodges was travelling to Boston to visit relatives when the disaster occurred.

In the letter, he thanked his friend for a telegram and described the "fine time" he was having on board.

He mentioned the good weather and lively scenes on the top deck, and described his gratitude at the president of the Newtown Conservative Association coming to see him off. 

Second-class passenger letters from the Titanic are extremely rare, making this item a particularly valuable piece of history.

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Another item sold at the auction was a one dollar bill recovered from the body of third-class passenger Ernest Tomlin.

The dollar bill fetched £37,000.

The note was originally sewn into his waistcoat.

Mr Aldridge said it was another record price, noting that the sale almost quadrupled its estimate.

Both Hodges and Tomlin were among those who died when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, a tragedy that claimed 1,500 lives.

The letter and other items were sold at Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes, Wiltshire.