Auction gem: unique drawing of Titanic

On April 11, 1912, the Titanic left Queenstown to make the great crossing to America. Unfortunately, it was the last time that one could see the huge passenger ship in all its glory. On the night of April 14 to 15, the Titanic sank. This weekend, after almost exactly 111 years, a unique cross-section of the ship disappeared under the hammer.

The cross-section of the Titanic was mounted on linen and used during the investigation into the cause of the tragedy that claimed more than 1500 lives. The extraordinary drawing was used by witnesses and experts in the interrogation room and even contains original chalk stripes. This allowed the 96 witnesses who were called to point out the different parts of the ship. For example, the red and green pinstripes indicate five places where the ice entered the bulkheads.  

After considering all the evidence presented, the court's ruling was as follows: “After careful examination of the circumstances of the accident, the Court finds that the loss of the ship was due to a collision with an iceberg caused by the excessive speed at which the ship was sailed.”

Main Titanic piece

After the verdict, the cross-section on linen was returned to White Star. In 2011 it was purchased by a private collector. It has since been exhibited in Belfast to millions of people. This weekend, the cross-section, together with other Titanic memorabilia, went under the hammer. According to British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd, the drawing is one of the most important and well-documented pieces of the Titanic in existence today. The new owner paid approximately €220.000 for it. The owner of the auction gem must have room for it; the diameter of the drawing is 9.75 meters.