Letter written by passenger aboard Titanic sells for THIS whopping amount at auction in UK

A fragile lettercard written aboard the RMS Titanic has just set a new world record. An anonymous collector shelled out a staggering sum of USD 399,000 (over Rs 3.4 crore) for a piece of history penned by Colonel Archibald Gracie -- which has been described as "prophetic." Notably, the sum is five times the estimated price of Rs 67 lakh, making it the most expensive Titanic correspondence ever sold.

'Shall await my journey's end'
Andrew Aldridge, auctioneer at Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, England, stated, "It is impossible to overstate the rarity of this lot, it is written by one of the highest profile survivors, with excellent content and on the rarest of mediums, a lettercard."
Dated April 10, 1912—the day the Titanic departed Southampton—the letter offers a rare glimpse into the lives that were tangled with the ill-fated ship. Gracie had written, "It is a fine ship but I shall await my journey's end before I pass judgment on her," words that, in hindsight, carry a haunting resonance.

Gracie hailed for bravery 
Colonel Gracie, a first-class passenger in the cabin C51, has been hailed for his bravery during the disaster, assisting women and children into lifeboats. He survived by clinging to an overturned lifeboat until rescue. He eventually made it to the RMS Carpathia and later recounted the tragedy in his book, The Truth About the Titanic, published in 1913. Aldridge further described the letter as one of the most detailed firsthand accounts of the Titanic's final hours.
While Gracie’s survival was miraculous, the hypothermia he suffered took a toll. He died on December 4, 1912 due to diabetic complications.

Letter termed 'indispensable'
Gracie’s account also served as a source for later Titanic studies. Historian Walter Lord, author of A Night to Remember, leaned heavily on Gracie’s writings, calling them "indispensable" for understanding human behaviour on the sinking ship.