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Lifejacket worn by Titanic survivor auctioned for more than $900,000
The cream-coloured, cork-filled jacket is believed to be one of only a few surviving Titanic life jackets, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said.
- On Saturday, April 18, a lifejacket worn by Titanic survivor Laura Mabel Francatelli sold for $906,000 at Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in Devizes, England.
- Francatelli, then 22, escaped aboard Lifeboat No 1 while working as a secretary for fashion designer Lady Lucy Duff Gordon and her husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon.
- The final sale price significantly exceeded its estimated value of $339,000 to $475,000, surpassing the $118,643 price when the lifejacket last sold in 2007.
- Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge noted that record-breaking prices "illustrate the continuing interest in the Titanic story," with a lifeboat seat cushion also drawing significant attention at the sale.
- The all-time auction record for a Titanic item remains a gold pocket watch that sold for nearly $2 million in 2024, reflecting sustained collector demand for memorabilia.
20 Articles
20 Articles
The Titanic Carried 3,500 Life Jackets, but Almost All of Them Have Been Lost to History. This One Just Sold at Auction for Nearly $1 Million
The artifact belonged to first-class passenger Laura Mabel Francatelli, a secretary heading to Chicago with her employer. It's the only life vest connected to a survivor of the 1912 shipwreck to ever appear at auction
A life jacket belonging to a woman who survived the sinking of the luxury ocean liner Titanic in 1912 has been sold at an auction in Devizes, southern England, for £670,000 (CZK 18.7 million). The sum significantly exceeded the expected amount, which brokers had originally estimated at a maximum of £350,000 (CZK 9.8 million).
Someone Paid Nearly $1 Million for This Old-Ass Life Vest
Mabel Francatelli’s life vest, pictured here in 2007 as part of a previous sale in London, was auctioned by Henry Adridge & Son. Photo: Getty Images They say one million dollars can barely get you anything these days, which seems true, since someone just shelled out $904,500 for a century-old cork-stuffed life vest. Yes, it was a life vest worn by a survivor of the RMS Titanic. Still! That’s a lot of money for something that, notably, never had…
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