Titanic survivor Esther Hart inked a letter with her seven-year-old daughter just eight hours before the ship collided with an iceberg and sank, 102 years ago in April 1912.
Auction house Henry Aldridge & Sons in Devizes, based in Wiltshire, UK, completed the sale after what was reported to be an exciting round of bidding, with a winning bid of GBP 119,000 (US $200,000).
The cruise liner sank on the fifth day of its maiden voyage from Southampton, en route to New York City – more than 1,500 passenger and crew were lost.
The letter was kept safe because it was kept in the jacket pocket of Hart’s husband Benjamin – he had given her the garment to keep warm.
"My Dear ones all. As you see it is Sunday afternoon and we are resting in the library after luncheon,” begins the letter. Hart continues by detailing her sea sickness and the windy and cold weather.
A spokesperson from the auction house said that the importance of the “legendary item” could not be overstated, since it is the only known surviving example of such a letter to have been written.
Last October, the violin that was used to soothe passengers as the Titanic sank was sold for GBP 900,000 by the same auctioneers. The instrument belonged to band leader Wallace Hartley who was not among the survivors.