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Titanic's fateful messages on the auction block
February 17, 1998
On the auction block were Titanic documents and printed telegraph messages
Web posted at: 6:05 p.m. EST (2305 GMT)NEW YORK (CNN) -- In an move no doubt timed to coincide with the spectacular box office success of the movie "Titanic," one of the more dramatic telegraph messages ever sent was on the auction block Tuesday.
Christie's auction house in New York was selling the telegraph sent by the doomed Titanic before it began sinking on April 14, 1912: "We have struck an iceberg." It is among four lots of Titanic documents and printed telegraph messages that were being offered for bidding.
Earlier telegraph messages from the Titanic's maiden voyage in the North Atlantic include those received and sent by nearby ships, detailing bad weather conditions the night of the disaster. Among the ships exchanging warnings with the Titanic was its sister ship, the Olympic.
"These messages are gossip almost, an exchange from ship to ship as they ask about the whereabouts of the Titanic," said Christie's East expert James Zemaitis.
Titanic's fateful messages on the auction block
The Titanic sent this message to its sister ship the Olympic, informing its crew it had struck an iceberg The documents are primarily translations of Morse code printed by Marconi Telegraph operators aboard other ships. One message to the SS Baltic from the Titanic reads, "Thanks for message and best wishes. Had fine weather since leaving."
"The more messages you read, the more iceberg warnings you read, the more you realize how perilous it was out there in the Atlantic at this time," Zemaitis said.
Despite the warnings of icebergs, the captain of the Titanic proceeded at full speed in an effort to break records for the ship's voyage.
The Titanic sank more than halfway through its voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew aboard the ship, about 1,500 died.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Exhibit displays smorgasbord of Titanic's elegance - May 27, 1997
- Diehard buffs gather to enjoy Titanic victims' last meal - April 4, 1997
- Titanic expedition got relics -- just not the hull - August 31, 1996
Related sites:
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- Christie's
- RMS Titanic, Inc.
- Titanic Exhibit from the Florida International Museum
- Titanic Web Site (official)
- Internet Movie Database (US)
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