Titanic passenger postcard up for sale for €350,000

April 10, 1912. It was the day of the liner's departure: Archibald Gracie sent a postcard to an acquaintance in London.

The author of the card, American Archibald Gracie, wrote: "She's a beautiful ship, but I will wait until the end of the voyage to judge her." A "prophetic" message that the auction house Henry Aldridge and Son didn't hesitate to highlight. And the letter has just sold for 300,000 pounds (approximately 350,000 euros), even though the auctioneers had originally estimated it at five times less than the sale price.

Destination London

The letter from Archibald Gracie, one of the Titanic passengers and one of the few survivors, is dated April 10, 1912, the day he embarked. The recipient was an acquaintance and the seller's great-uncle. He had received the card at the Waldorf Hotel in London, reports the RTBF media outlet.

The author of the map had written "The Truth About the Titanic" shortly after the liner's sinking, the work that made him famous. Although he survived the tragedy, Archibald died the same year, in December 1912.

More than 1,500 missing

As it left the port of Southampton on April 10, 1912, carrying 2,200 people, five days later, on April 15, the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Nearly 1,500 passengers died that day.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source : RTBF - Illustration : ©Unsplash)