A TITANIC FEE

Rare Titanic Artifact Sells for Almost $1 Million

It comes 114 years after more than 1,500 people died when the ship hit an iceberg.

A life jacket worn by a survivor on the Titanic has sold for almost $1 million at auction. First-Class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli’s jacket was expected to fetch between $339,000 and $474,000, but ended up hammering out for the equivalent of $904,500. With 12 cork-filled pouches, the jacket was signed by Francatellia and other survivors, and previously sat in the Titanic Belfast museum, near where the ship was built. “Quite simply this lifejacket presents a once in a generation opportunity for collectors, it’s the only example to ever be offered for auction from a Titanic survivor,” said Andrew Aldridge, managing director of Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire, U.K. In total, only 700 of the 2,200 people aboard survived after it hit an iceberg off the coast of Canada. “Although (the) Titanic sank 114 years ago, every man, woman and child onboard had a story to tell so in essence we have over 2,200 chapters and today we present those stories through these pieces of memorabilia,” Aldridge said. “The lifejacket is without doubt one of the most iconic items from the Titanic ever to be offered for auction.”