"Auction to sell Titanic items — including a deck chair

By Owen Moritz
New York Daily News

NEW YORK — Now you can rearrange your own Titanic deck chair.

A wooden chaise from the luxury liner is expected to fetch $50,000 to $60,000 at auction this month.

It is among scores of treasures from the mighty ship's ill-fated maiden voyage — including china, artwork, a life jacket, lifeboat nameplate, china and original menus salvaged from the seas off Newfoundland — that are going up for bid.

According to Guernsey's auction house, the deck chair is one among only a handful in existence — and the others are said to be in museums. The chair was the model for those created for the "Titanic" movie.

The June 10 auction at the South Street Seaport Museum also includes memorabilia from other doomed ocean liners associated with New York — the Lusitania, Normandie, Andrea Doria and Olympic.

This is "the most comprehensive ... collection ever to be presented on the Titanic," said Guernsey President Arlan Ettinger. The sellers are three major Titanic collectors.

Items on the block include:

• A cork life jacket and liner, estimated price: $30,000 to $40,000.

• An S.S. Titanic plaque from lifeboat No. 2, estimated price: $75,000 to $100,000.

• An address slip recovered from the body of a postal clerk named Oscar Woody, who was celebrating his 44th birthday. He and fellow postal clerks tried to save 200 sacks of registered mail bound for New York. None of the clerks survived. Estimated price: $15,000 to $17,000.

• Menus and tableware, including a crystal wine glass from the first-class section, estimated price: $1,000 to $1,500.

More than 1,500 passengers and crew members, including prominent New Yorkers such as John Jacob Astor and Macy's founder Isador Straus and his wife, Ida, died in less than three hours after the Titanic slammed into an iceberg April 15, 1912. The 704 survivors were rescued by the liner Carpathia.

The Titanic's wreckage was not found until Sept. 1, 1985, about 380 miles east of Newfoundland. A report last week said that the liner, thought at its launching to be unsinkable, is deteriorating underwater much faster than experts anticipated.

[ 06-01-2004: Message edited by: CGT ]

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Originally posted by CGT:
Quite frankly, items form the NORMANDIE would be the most interesting. I'll pass on the TITANIC, thank you .

[ 06-01-2004: Message edited by: CGT ]

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Me too. I feel the ship should have been left as is, and instead these "explorers" have salvaged anything that wasn't bolted down to the ship for profit (in many cases). To me it's kind of like digging up a grave site.

Now NORMANDIE is another story. I would be happy with just about anything from that amazing ship. She was unique, TITANIC was not in that she had almost identical sisters. What makes TITANIC unique today is the tragedy. Had that never happened no one would have ever even heard or cared about TITANIC. There was nothing really special about her although historians try to make her out that way as it helps broaden her appeal.

Sorry, Ernie but, I disagree. While I'll admit that her history would not be as universally known, she would still be considered a beautiful liner. As for her being identical to Olympic, many historians consider her to be the more beautiful of the two ... mainly because of the enclosed forward half of her promenade deck. Her perfectly balanced profile and uncluttered upperworks are also noteworthy.

If the argument is true that her importance is only relative to her demise, mainly because she was not unique, then the same could be said for Andrea Doria, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, etc. And you never hear of anyone dogging these ships. But, unlike these ships, with the possible exception of Lusitania, the world suffers from Titanic-overload. I get a bit tired of it too but, as more and more young people learn the story, the cycle never ends ... and it's not going away.

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Originally posted by linerguy:
"Had that never happened no one would have ever even heard or cared about TITANIC. There was nothing really special about her".

Sorry, Ernie but, I disagree. While I'll admit that her history would not be as universally known, she would still be considered a beautiful liner. As for her being identical to Olympic, many historians consider her to be the more beautiful of the two ... mainly because of the enclosed forward half of her promenade deck. Her perfectly balanced profile and uncluttered upperworks are also noteworthy.

If the argument is true that her importance is only relative to her demise, mainly because she was not unique, then the same could be said for Andrea Doria, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, etc. And you never hear of anyone dogging these ships. But, unlike these ships, with the possible exception of Lusitania, the world suffers from Titanic-overload. I get a bit tired of it too but, as more and more young people learn the story, the cycle never ends ... and it's not going away.

Russ

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Russ,
I seriously doubt many even know that TITANIC had two sisters. Of those that do, I wonder how many could name them? Basically that is my point.

How many "normal" people outside those who know Liners have ever heard of CARONIA, LEONARDO DA VINCI, or FRANCONIA? Not many. I truly believe that no one would give a second thought to ANDREA DORIA or LUSITANIA had they not been involved in tragedies. In general people don't give a damn about old Liners unless they somehow become notable.

How do they become notable?
1. Tragedy - TITANIC
2. Speed - QUEEN MARY, NORMANDIE, SSUS
3. Extreme Opulence - NORMANDIE, QM2
4. Terrorist Event - ACHILLO LAURO

The most famous ship today is the QM2. Why? Because she is the most expensive, largest, and considered by many to be the most lavish. She is unique in a sea of mediocrity and that is why she will be remembered. I wonder how ordinary ships like the NORWEGIAN CROWN and SUN PRINCESS will be remembered? I doubt many people will have ever heard about them 20 years from now unless God forbid they are involved in some horrific event.

There were hundreds of passenger ships built just since the early 1900's. How many of them today are familiar to the general population? Three or four at most, and even at that I think I'm being generous.

As I stated, most people probably can not name the sisters of TITANIC. If TITANIC did not sink on her maiden voyage I doubt many people could name her either.

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Originally posted by linerguy:

If the argument is true that her importance is only relative to her demise, mainly because she was not unique, then the same could be said for Andrea Doria, Lusitania, Empress of Ireland, etc. And you never hear of anyone dogging these ships.

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And yes, ANDREA DORIA, LUSITANIA, and EMPRESS OF IRELAND did have careers. But, if these ships, along with TITANIC, had not met an untimely end, they would all be, sorry, in the same boat. That is my point. Could have explained that better I guess.

As far as how ordinary ships like NORWEGIAN CROWN and SUN PRINCESS are going to be remembered, my guess is through the thousands of passengers who sail on them, historians, and folks like us.

Lastly, I've never considered the idea of auctioning off TITANIC memorabilia as being in bad taste. As far as picking the items from what is "basically a grave" goes, it's, one, not true, as the article states that items at the auction were recovered right after the sinking and, two, hogwash. No one ever moans about people retrieving items from other famous shipwrecks and selling them (hell, I thought it was cool to hold a porthole from LUSITANIA ... if a had the extra $400, I would have bought it). But take so much as a button from the TITANIC site and folks come out of the woodwork. It all started when A-hole, Robert Ballard, found the ship and then decided he could dictate what others should and shouldn't do ... his self-serving, hands-off approach has backfired on him time and time again. Almost every explorer after him has returned with superior images and items that MILLIONS of people flock to see.

As always, thanks for the fuel on the fire.

I am willing to spend up to $5,000 for this so don't even think about trying to outbid me...

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Originally posted by joe at travelpage:
Don't forget, this auction is today. My personal favorite item is here..

I am willing to spend up to $5,000 for this so don't even think about trying to outbid me...

Joe at TravelPage.com

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Originally posted by PamM:
I am sure I could achieve the same effect by sticking a cup in the oven or m/wave]

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Pam, we are in business! you do the microwave part and I do the drawings bit. Heck we could even do other shipwrecks on demand and sell the cups for big money!