A letter from one passenger of Titanic has sold for a world record price at auction.

News24xx.com - The letter, written by American businessman and Titanic passenger, Oscar Holverson, fetched £126,000. The sea-water stained document was sold to a British buyer, whose bid to the auction in Wiltshire came in via phone.

Holverson wrote it on 13 April 1912 - the day before the Belfast-built ship hit an iceberg. The auctioneer, Andrew Aldridge, described the anonymous customer as someone who collects iconic items from history.

Holverson, a successful salesman, wrote the letter to his mother while travelling on the ill-fated ship with his wife, Mary. The couple boarded the Titanic in Southampton and planned to travel back to their home in New York.

In his note, the writer seems in awe of his surroundings, telling his mother that the boat is giant in size and fitted up like a palatial hotel. Mr Holverson, also writes about seeing the richest person in the world at that time - John Jacob Astor - on the ship, accompanied by his wife.

The letter had a price of between £60,000 and £80,000.

When the Titanic sank, Oscar Holverson and John Jacob Astor, died along with more than 1,500 people. But Mary Holverson survived. Her husband's body was recovered and inside a pocket book, the letter was found. It still bears the stains of the sea water and the water mark of the White Star shipping line.

The letter eventually made its way back to his mother.

Mr Holverson was buried in Woodlawn cemetery in New York. Other items in Saturday's auction included a set of keys belonging to a steward in the Titanic's First Class, which fetched £76,000.

Two previously unpublished photos of the Titanic went for £24,000. The previous world record for a Titanic letter sold at auction was £119,000, set in April 2014, for a letter written a few hours before the ship hit the iceberg.

 

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