The ill-fated maiden voyage of RMS Titanic is one of the most famous marine disasters of all time and needs little introduction. The sinking of the White Star Line ship on 15th April 1912, after colliding with an iceberg, was made ever-more memorable with the 1997 award-winning movie by James Cameron.
A previously unrecorded and unpublished letter, to be offered in Toovey’s forthcoming auction of Paper Collectables, was written on board Titanic by the wealthy American heiress Georgette Alexandra Madill, later Mattei. It details that the 1st class passenger had arrived at Southampton at 11.30am and, after exploring the ship, had set sail at noon. It also states: ‘The “Oceanic” & “New York” were moored beyond us and just after we had left the dock the “New York” broke her cables & drifted into our stern – it was most exciting!’ This lesser-known incident was very nearly a serious accident, caused by the huge displacement of water that Titanic generated. The two smaller ships were lifted by the huge bulge of water, which dropped into a trough; SS City of New York’s cables could not take this sudden strain and snapped. New York drifted towards Titanic and it is reported that a collision was only a few feet away, but a nearby tugboat helped take New York out of the path of Titanic. Madill shared a cabin with her cousin, Miss Elisabeth Walton Allen, and was travelling with her mother, Mrs Elisabeth Walton Robin, and her maid, Miss Emilie Kreuchen. All four survived the disaster, being rescued in Lifeboat 2.
The 3-side letter, dated April 10 1912, is on RMS Titanic headed paper and was presumably sent to the recipient, Doris, from either of the stops at Cherbourg or Queenstown. It carries a £2000-4000 pre-sale estimate and will go under the gavel at Toovey’s on 24th February 2015. The letter was discovered by Toovey’s during a valuation for probate at a local property. The deceased’s family were completely unaware of the letter’s existence and have no knowledge of how the recipient, the deceased’s mother, had come to know Miss Madill.
Also included in the auction are a group of postcards featuring RMS Titanic, consigned by other vendors. They include a detailed photographic view of the ship moored at Southampton, a view of Titanic passing the sailing yacht Alberta off Cowes, written on the reverse by the yacht’s owner, and scenes relating to the unveiling of the Titanic Memorial in Portsmouth.
