Titanic Memorabilia to Hit Auction Block

N E W   Y O R K, May 12, 2004 -- An unprecedented collection of Titanic memorabilia will be up for auction in June, with hundreds of items reclaimed from the wreckage brought together for what may be the only time.

Guernsey's Auction House will hold The Titanic Auction at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York on June 10.

Three collectors, who have been gathering the memorabilia for a long time, decided the time was right to sell, said Arlan Ettinger, president of Guernsey's Auction House.

Those interested in the merchandise should be prepared to pay handsomely for souvenirs of the tragedy. For example, there were 290 pieces created originally for the captain's table on the Titanic, and very few are left, Ettinger said. A demitasse cup and saucer from the ship's captain's table are expected to go for $20,000 to $25,000.

A deck chair from the Titanic is expected to fetch anywhere between $50,000 to $60,000, Ettinger said. Only four to five Titanic deck chairs have been authenticated as such. Three are in museums, and one will be at the auction. The chair was at the Manitoba Titanic Museum, and was recovered by a vessel at the scene of the disaster. The cane seat was replaced, but it is otherwise original, Ettinger said.

Even items that were not on the ship, such as a painting of the vessel completed for the Oscar-winning film Titanic, is expected to bring in an offer of $30,000 to $40,000.

Here is a sampling of some of the items that will be up for auction, with estimates of how much they may go for.

An 82-inch long model of the RMS Titanic. Estimate: $15,000 to $18,000

Painting of Titanic by Ken Marchall: Estimate: $30,000 to $40,000.