A life jacket worn by Laura Mabel Francatelli, a first-class passenger on the RMS Titanic, was sold at auction for £670,000 (approximately $906,000) on Saturday. The flotation device, which features signatures from Francatelli and other survivors of the sinking, was the highlight of the auction conducted by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, England. The sale price significantly exceeded the pre-auction estimate of £250,000 to £350,000, reflecting ongoing public interest in Titanic-related memorabilia.
In addition to the life jacket, a seat cushion from one of the Titanic's lifeboats was sold for £390,000 ($527,000) to the owners of two Titanic museums located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri. The prices achieved at the auction include the buyer's premium, a standard fee added by auction houses.
Andrew Aldridge, the auctioneer, noted that the high prices underscore the enduring fascination with the Titanic story and the respect for those who experienced the tragedy. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage from England to New York, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew members on board.
Francatelli was traveling with her employer, fashion designer Lucy Duff Gordon, and her husband, Cosmo Duff Gordon. All three survived in lifeboat No. 1, which was launched with only 12 people aboard, despite its capacity for 40, raising questions about its failure to rescue additional survivors.
The record for Titanic memorabilia remains £1.56 million (nearly $2 million) for a gold pocket watch awarded to the captain of the RMS Carpathia, the vessel that rescued survivors from the Titanic disaster.