Wallace Hartley's Violin
While Titanic sank, violinist Wallace Hartley and his fellow musicians continued playing. Their final song was reported to be"Nearer My God To Thee," performed until they could no longer remain above water. A surviving passenger claimedHartley's last words to his bandmates were,"Gentlemen, I bid you farewell." When Hartleyfinallywent into the water, hereportedly tried used his leather bag as a floatationdevice and put the violin, a gift from his fiancée Maria Robinson, inside it. The bow was too longto fit inside. Hartley'sbody was found 10days later, along withhiswater-damaged violin. Robinson requested it back, though the instrument was presumed lost. In2006, the violinwas discovered in Robinson'sattic by an amateur musician. The old instrument still had an engraved plaque on it that read, "For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement. From Maria."After seven years of study, it was verified authentic, and went up for auction in 2013. The violin fetched a whopping $1.7 million,and is considered to be one of the most important artifacts everrecovered from the Titanic.
Photo: William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
A Jewel-Encrusted Edition Of The Rubáiyát
The Rubáiyátis a book of poems by Medieval Persian philosopherand mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048-1131 CE). English writer and poetEdward Fitzgerald translated the poems to Englishfor the first time in 1860, and they werepublished to great acclaim. In 1911, the publishing house Sangorski & Sutcliffemade aparticularly lavish copy of The Rubáiyát. It featured a Moroccan leather cover, decorated with embroidered peaco*cks and more than a thousand gems set in gold. The impressive volumewent on exhibition in England before being auctioned off to an American buyer for a little over $2,000. It was loaded onto the Titanic to be shipped to its new owner. In the unlikely event The Rubáiyát is recovered from the ocean, it would be worth an estimated $120,000.
Photo: WorldAutoMotors / YouTube
A 1912 Renault Type CB Coupe De Ville
The Renault CB coupe owned by first-class passenger William Carterwas the only automobile thought to be brought onto the ship.BothCarter and his family survived the sinking, and he later made a $5,000 insurance claim for his brand-new automobile. Historians say the Renaultwas held in a cargo hold on the front of the ship, which remains mostly intact on the ocean floor. While the value of the actualrecovered vehicle is unknown, in 2003 a similar Renault was sold at auction for $269,500. The real version, if ever recovered, would surely fetch millions.
Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Four Cases Of Opium
John Jacob AstorIV, one of the world's richest men, also went down with the Titanic.The American Astor familymade theirfortune in fur trading, and later, opium. In 1909, though, the USCongress outlawed"smoking opium." Somehow, four cases of opiumpresumably belonging to Astor still made it onto the Titanic – only to wind up on the bottom of the Atlantic.
Photo: George Charles Beresford / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
A Handwritten Manuscript By Joseph Conrad
In 1898, Joseph Conrad's Tales of Unrestwas published. The collection of short storiesincluded Karain: A Memory,thethird short storyConradhad ever written. Conrad sent a handwritten copy of Karain: A Memory to an American collector. The manuscript wound up in the Titanic mailroom, along with the other 7 million pieces of mail that now rest underwater.
Photo: Internet Archive Book Images / Wikimedia Commons / No Restrictions
Five Steinway Grand Pianos
Underwater footage of the Titanicwreckshows a still standing and mostly intact grand piano. In fact, there were five grand pianos on the ship, three of which were for first class passengers. Amongthosethree wasSteinway's crown jewel, the Model B, which was specially customized for the ship. Therewas alsoa Model R, which was discontinued in 1942, and a Model K, which remains in production to thisday. A 1912 refurbished Model M from Steinway was recently put up for auction for nearly$35,000 dollars; imagine how much the actual sunken pianos are worth.
