Jody Serrano
Editor in chiefEditor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. While I've covered all sorts of things related to technology, I'm specialized in writing about social media, Internet culture, Twitch, and streamers.
More than 100 years after its sinking, the story of the Titanic continues to enthrall those who hear it. As such, it’s no surprise that a “prophetic” letter penned onboard the ship by one of its most well-known survivors made waves.
It also just made $399,000 at auction.
Colonel Archibald Gracie. The letter was written by Col. Archibald Gracie, a wealthy Alabama real estate investor and military historian. In 1912, Gracie took a solo trip to Europe after writing a book titled, The Truth about Chickamauga, a battle where his father fought for Confederate forces. For his return to the U.S., Gracie chose to travel on the RMS Titanic. He bought a first-class ticket and boarded the ship on April 10.
Over the next few days, Gracie proceeded to act as a chaperone for unaccompanied women on the ship. He also read books in the Titanic’s first-class library.
The letter. Gracie wrote the letter to the seller’s great uncle on April 10, five days before the ship sunk. While the Alabama native compliments the Titanic, he explains that he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the ship.
"It is a fine ship but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her," he said.
Interestingly, Gracie admits that he misses the RMS Oceanic, the ship he took on the first leg of his journey.
"The Oceanic is like an old friend and while she does not possess the elaborate style and varied amusement of this big ship, still her seaworthy qualities and yacht-like appearance make me miss her."
The letter was postmarked in Queenstown, Ireland, one of the two stops made by the Titanic before it sank.
Gracie’s last day on the Titanic. On the day the Titanic met its end, Gracie had gone to bed early because he was going to play squash the next day. However, he woke up after feeling a strong shock on the ship and the sound of escaping stream. The ship had hit the iceberg.
Gracie proceeded to help load women and children into the lifeboats. When the Titanic’s stern sank, Gracie and a few other men clung to upturned lifeboat. The colonel would later write that more than half of the men on the lifeboat died from exhaustion or the cold.
Gracie eventually boarded the rescue ship Carpathia and returned to New York City. He was one of roughly 700 people of out 2,240 who survived the ship’s sinking.
But Gracie wouldn’t survive the year. Over the next few months, he would publish his personal account of what happened on the Titanic, which was originally titled, The Truth About the Titanic, before dying because of hypothermia and complications from diabetes on Dec. 4, 1912.
The auction. Although originally expected to generate about $80,000, Gracie’s letter sold for $399,000, according to the auction house Henry Aldridge & Son. Auction officials said letters from high-profile survivors rarely come to market.
"This letter is one of the finest of its type known," auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said.
The buyer was a private collector in the U.S.
Images | Henry Aldridge & Son
View 0 comments