Yesterday, a violin that was played as the Titanic sank fetched a staggering $1.46 million at auction, setting a record for memorabilia associated with the ill-fated ocean liner.
Wallace Hartley, the band leader, played this instrument in an effort to soothe passengers as the ship descended into the icy waters of the North Atlantic in April 1912, following a collision with an iceberg during its inaugural journey from Southampton to New York.
As passengers boarded lifeboats, Hartley and his band performed the hymn “Nearer, My God, To Thee.” Despite the chaos, Hartley and his seven bandmates chose to continue playing—their sacrifice was part of the tragedy that led to the loss of more than 1,500 lives.
More than ten days post-disaster, when Hartley’s body was retrieved, the violin was discovered in a leather case that was securely fastened to him, stemming from the folklore that has developed around the event.
The violin was returned to Hartley’s fiancée, Maria Robinson, in England. After her passing in 1939, it was donated to her local Salvation Army band and subsequently changed hands multiple times, ultimately arriving with its current owner, whose identity remains undisclosed.
On a silver plate mounted on the German-made violin, the inscription reads: “For WALLACE on the occasion of our ENGAGEMENT from MARIA.”
Initially, the violin was offered for sale along with its case, which featured the initials W.H.H, with a guide price of 300,000 pounds, as noted by Chrissie Aldridge from auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son.
“It is indeed a record,” she declared following the sale. When inquired about the buyer, she simply stated: “A British collector.”
Having been rediscovered in 2006, it took experts, including forensic scientists, years to verify the authenticity of the instrument.
Nonetheless, skepticism remains among some individuals questioning whether the violin could have survived being submerged in seawater.
According to the auction house, the item garnered interest from collectors globally, with over 300,000 people viewing it during a three-month exhibition across the United States.
