Letter written onboard the Titanic before it sank sells for almost $400,000

A lettercard penned by one of the Titanic’s most well-known survivors from onboard the ship, days before it sank, has sold for £300,000 ($399,000) at auction.

In the note, written to the seller’s great-uncle on April 10, 1912, first-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote of the ill-fated steamship: “It is a fine ship but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her.”

The letter was sold to a private collector from the United States on Saturday, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, England. The hammer price far exceeded the initial estimate price of £60,000.

The lettercard is dated April 10, 1912 — just days before the Titanic sank, in the early hours of April 13.

The letter is believed to be the sole example in existence from Gracie from onboard the Titanic, which sank off Newfoundland after hitting an iceberg, killing about 1,500 people on its maiden voyage.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described it as an “exceptional museum grade piece.”

Gracie, who jumped from the ship and managed to scramble onto an overturned collapsible boat, was rescued by other passengers onboard a lifeboat and was taken to the R.M.S. Carpathia. He went on to write “The Truth about the Titanic,” an account of his experiences, when he returned to New York City.

<div data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/cma0ibh46000h3b6m71durc55@published" data-component-name="video-resource" data-editable="settings" class="video-resource" data-fixed-ratio="16×9" data-parent-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_d691e4ba899cac8e27e552474bf81a0f@published" data-video-id="arts/2018/08/29/steven-murphy-art-auctions-style-orig.cnn" data-media-id="me63a010c298db0c9cadeb2e1f8dc3ff99fefc19b3" data-live="" data-analytics-aggregate-events="true" data-custom-experience="" data-asset-type="hlsTs" data-auth-type="none" data-content-type="mediasource-clip" data-medium-env="prod" data-autostart="unmuted" data-show-ads="true" data-source="CNN" data-featured-video="true" data-headline="Related video: How do art auctions really work?" data-has-video-player="true" data-description="From the lead up to the sale to the moment the hammer comes down, former CEO of Christie's and art adviser Steven Murphy explains what happens at an auction. " data-duration="03:09" data-source-html='<span class="video-resource__source"> – Source:

<a target="_self" href="https://www.cnn.com/" class="video-resource__source-url">CNN</a>
</span>' data-fave-thumbnails='{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180830102800-steven-murphy-auction-tease.jpg?q=x_3,y_136,h_1466,w_2606,c_crop/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180830102800-steven-murphy-auction-tease.jpg?q=x_3,y_136,h_1466,w_2606,c_crop/h_540,w_960" } }' data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="” data-byline-html='<div
data-uri=”cms.cnn.com/_components/byline/instances/byline_h_d691e4ba899cac8e27e552474bf81a0f-video-resource@published”
data-component-name=”byline”
class=”byline vossi-byline”
data-editable=”settings”
>
<div class=”byline__images”>
</div>
<div class=”byline__names vossi-byline__names”>
<span class=”byline__name”>Jacquelyn Palumbo</span>
</div>
</div>’ data-timestamp-html='<div
class=”timestamp vossi-timestamp”
data-uri=”cms.cnn.com/_components/timestamp/instances/cma0ibhrf000l3b6ms6gyo0u5@published”
data-editable=”settings”
>
Published
11:32 PM EDT, Sun April 27, 2025
</div>’ data-check-event-based-preview=”” data-is-vertical-video-embed=”false” data-network-id=”” data-publish-date=”2018-08-30T08:46:11Z” data-video-section=”style” data-canonical-url=”https://www.cnn.com/videos/arts/2018/08/29/steven-murphy-art-auctions-style-orig.cnn” data-branding-key=”” data-video-slug=”steven murphy art auctions style orig” data-first-publish-slug=”steven murphy art auctions style orig” data-video-tags=”arts and entertainment,auctions,domestic alerts,domestic-entertainment,iab-fine art,international alerts,international-entertainment,visual arts” data-breakpoints='{“video-resource–media-extra-large”: 660}’ data-display-video-cover=”true” data-details=””>