A Titanic iceberg
The black and white photo has hung for decades on the wall of a boardroom of a firm connected to White Star Line, the now-defunct shipping company that owned the Titanic. It was sold at the Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneer house, along with a Spillers and Bakers pilot biscuit that had been on one of the life boats; the hardtack biscuit went for £15,000.
The chief steward of a German vessel, the Prinz Adalbert, took the photo in the early hours of April 15, 1912, not long after the Titanic had sank and before the crew of the Adalbert was aware of the tragedy. The man who took the photo said he did so because he spotted a streak of red paint along the waterline on one side of the iceberg and believed it must have come in contact with a ship.
The photo comes with a written declaration that reads: “On the day after the sinking of the Titanic, the steamer Prinz Adalbert passes the iceberg shown in this photograph. The Titanic disaster was not yet known by us. On one side red paint was plainly visible, which has the appearance of having been made by the scraping of a vessel on the iceberg.”
That declaration was signed “M. Linoenewald, and three crewmen.” Despite that, experts say there is no way to confirm the iceberg is the one the RMS Titanic hit; however, it is widely believed that it is.
Largest ocean liner
The luxury liner was the world’s largest passenger ship when she sailed from Southampton, England bound for New York on April 10, 1912; it was her first and last voyage. In the frigid waters of the North Atlantic she struck an iceberg four days after setting sail and was headed to the bottom of the sea 2 hours and 40 minutes later. Of the 2,223 passengers and crew, 1,517 died.
In May of 2009 the last surviving Titanic passenger passed away. Millvina Dean was but 9-weeks-old when the ship hit the iceberg and sank. Her mother managed to get her and a brother to a lifeboat but her father went down with the ship.
It has not been made public who purchased the photo of the iceberg.
