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A 'prophetic' letter written aboard the ill-fated Titanic has sold at auction in England for a staggering sum.
The letter was put up for auction by Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. of Wiltshire on April 26. It was written by Archibald Gracie IV on April 10, 1912 – just five days before the ship sank on April 15.
Gracie wrote the note on April 10, as the ship left Southampton, England. The letter was postmarked in London two days later, on April 12.
“She is a fine ship, but I shall wait until my voyage is over before I form an opinion of her,” Gracie wrote persuasively in a letter.
“Oceanic is like an old friend, and while it doesn’t have the sophisticated style and entertainment options of a larger vessel, its seakeeping characteristics and yacht-like appearance make me miss it,” he added.
The letter sold at auction was dated April 10 and postmarked April 12 – just days before the disaster. (Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd.; Getty Images)
According to Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd, Gracie was suddenly awakened around midnight on April 14 when the Titanic struck the iceberg.
“He later noted that more than half the people who initially reached the lifeboat either died of exhaustion or exposure, slipping silently off the keel in the night,” the auction house said in a statement.
The British auctioneer who sold the letter described it as “prophetic.” (Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd.)
“At dawn, Colonel Gracie returned to New York aboard the rescue ship Carpathia, where he began to record his experiences.”
Although Gracie survived the shipwreck, the disaster left his health severely damaged.
On the day of the sinking, he suffered hypothermia and various physical injuries.
In December 1912, he fell into a coma and died from complications caused by diabetes.
Pictured is the Titanic leaving Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage on April 10. (AP Photo/File)
The 103-year-old piece of paper was originally expected to fetch the equivalent of $80,000, but it sold for a staggering £300,000 or $399,000.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge called the letter “one of the finest known examples of its kind.”
“Not only is it written by one of the Titanic's most important first-class passengers, [but] the letter itself contains the most prophetic line: 'She is a fine ship, but I will wait until the end of my voyage before I pass judgment on her,'” Aldridge noted.
“Five days later, the Titanic was at the bottom of the North Atlantic.”
The RMS Titanic has been a source of public fascination for over a century. The wrecked remains of the ship you see here were discovered in the 1980s. (NO
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