Titanic's artifacts

Titanic was the ship of dreams, carrying aristocrats home to their American mansions and working-class emigrants toward new and better lives.She boasted luxury never seen on the seas before: Opulent suites, grand dining rooms, a sweeping staircase. The biggest ship of her time, she was said to be unsinkable.

Four days into Titanic's maiden voyage, the ship's captain received an iceberg warning. Then, just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the ship's lookout shouted the fateful words: "Iceberg right ahead!"  There was a monstrous jarring, and the mighty liner began to sink. Within hours, 1500 people had died and the world's most famous vessel lay on the ocean  floor.

Here are some artifacts offered on USA auction.

This key to the binoculars store on the Titanic fetched more than $170,000 when it was sold in April 2010. The key, marked with the tag 'Crows Nest Telephone Titanic' was not on the ship when she set sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. As a result, the lookouts could not open the cabinet and had to rely on the naked eye as the ship navigated a treacherous ice field. A postcard (rear) sent home by a passenger on-board sold for more than $32,000 at the same sale. Photo: Henry Aldridge, AP

Titanic artefacts on New York auction

On 1st December 2011, 10:30 AM & 3:00 PM, Swann Auction Galleries in New York will offer Titanic lots including a deck plan of first-class suites ($12,000 to $18,000) and a fragment of a music box in the form of a pig ($1,500 to $2,500) that the fashion writer Edith Russell clung to during her rescue. Legend has it that the pig’s tunes cheered up survivors on the lifeboat. The catalogue is available for $35.

Exhibition:
Mon., Nov. 28, 10-6
Tues., Nov. 29, 10-8
Wed., Nov. 30, 10-6