A letter from a passenger on the Titanic, written just hours before the ship hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage, sold at auction on Saturday for 119,000 pounds ($200,000).
It was written by British survivors Esther Hart and her seven-year-old daughter Eva who had been travelling in Second Class on their way to start a new life in Canada.
The Titanic sank on the night of Sunday 14 April 1912, on the fifth day of its first voyage from Southampton to New York.
Over 1,500 passengers and crew lost their lives in the tragedy, including Hart’s husband Benjamin.
The letter was written on special stationery headed “On board RMS ‘Titanic'” and complete with an envelope embossed with the White Star Line flag.
“My dear ones all,” it begins. “As you see it is Sunday afternoon and we are resting in the library after luncheon. I was very bad all day yesterday could not eat or drink and sick all the while, but today I have got over it.
“The sailors say we have had a wonderful passage up to now. There has been no tempest, but God knows what it must be when there is one. It is very nice weather but awfully windy and cold.”
“They say we may get into New York Tuesday night but we are really due early Wednesday morning. Shall write as soon as we get there.”
The letter, with a cheery farewell from young Eva at the bottom, survived because it had been in the pocket of her husband’s coat, which he had given to his wife to keep her warm as the ship was evacuated. He did not survive the disaster.
