A life jacket belonging to a female passenger on the Titanic is set to go up for auction in Britain
A life jacket belonging to a female passenger on the Titanic who survived the 1912 disaster is set to go up for auction in the UK, and it could become one of the rarest historical items associated with the legendary liner to ever be sold. The lot is already being called unique, as such artifacts rarely appear on the open market. The price is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of pounds, CNN reports.
The life jacket will be put up for auction by the British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son, which specializes in artifacts related to the “Titanic.” The organizers emphasize that such items appear on the market extremely rarely and call this sale a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
The estimated value of the lot ranges from 250,000 to 350,000 pounds sterling, equivalent to approximately $339,000–$474,000. According to the auction house, this is the only known life jacket that belonged to a passenger who survived the 1912 tragedy and has ever been offered for public auction.
The item belonged to Laura Mabel Francatelli, a first-class passenger who was traveling with designer Lucy Duff Gordon and her husband. All three were able to escape by boarding lifeboat No. 1, which remained after the liner collided with an iceberg.
The Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912, and at the time was considered the largest and most modern passenger ship in the world, even being called “unsinkable.” However, on the night of April 15, the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank in less than three hours. Of the more than 2,200 people on board, only about 700 survived, as there were not enough lifeboats.
According to the auction house’s description, the life jacket is made of beige fabric, features 12 pockets with cork padding, side straps, and shoulder inserts. It bears the signatures of Francatelli and other rescued passengers, making it even more valuable to collectors and museums.
Previously, this artifact was on display at the Titanic Belfast museum, located at the ship’s construction site, as well as at the largest Titanic museum in Tennessee, before returning to the private collection market.
