A seat cushion from one of the Titanic’s lifeboats is expected to fetch up to £180,000 at auction later this month.
In a sale auctioneers are describing as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for collectors, the cushion comes complete with the original Titanic lifeboat plaque in the form of a White Star burgee.
It was originally bought by a friend of a London tea importer who drowned on the ship when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 14, 1912.
The cushion itself, made of canvas, was taken from one of its 13 lifeboats that brought survivors to the rescue ship, SS Carpathia.
It comes complete with four brass eyelets intact, and crucially, it still has its original lifeboat plaque and is being sold alongside an original length of rope from the ship and documents to verify its authenticity.
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According to the story told by auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, a coffee and tea importer from London called Richard William Smith was sailing on the ill-fated liner to meet his friend Mr. TG Matthews, a fellow tea importer in Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Smith was among the 1,500 who died in the disaster, although his body was never identified.
The story goes—according to the auctioneer Andrew Aldridge—that Mr. Matthews was so upset by what had happened, he bought the cushion when it was first put up for sale by Meyer-Forest Corporation, a prominent steamship supplies company.
A signed statement by George Meyer confirms the item was a “Titanic Lifeboat Seat taken from one of the thirteen lifeboats brought here by the rescue ship SS Carpathia, along with the lucky survivors picked up the next morning”.
Mr. Matthews bought the lot, keeping it in his offices until he passed it to his grandson, George Matthews Byers, in 1926. It has had two owners since Mr. Byers sold it in 1987 and is now being sold by the anonymous owner.
Auctioneer Mr. Aldridge said: “It is unparalleled to be offering a fully provenanced item from a Titanic lifeboat complete with lifeboat plaque for auction, it’s totally unprecedented.
“The item can actually be identified on a period photograph of Titanic’s Lifeboat 2.
“The item has been featured in one of the most important books on Titanic memorabilia written ‘Fortune and Fate’ and has a peer-reviewed provenance package.
“It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a museum or collector.”
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The seat cushion is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge & Son of Devizes, Wiltshire, on April 18.
Crime & Courts Correspondent
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