A gold pocket watch recovered from the body of one of the richest passengers on the Titanic is could make £1 million at auction at Aldridges in Wiltshire on November 22. Isidor Straus and his wife Ida were among the more than 1,500 people who died in the disaster in April 1912. An 18 carat gold Jules Jurgensen pocket watch was recovered from his body in the Atlantic. Ida’s body was never found. The Bavarian-born American businessman and politician was co-owner of Macy’s department store in New York.
The pocket watch stopped at 02:20, the moment the Titanic disappeared beneath the waves. It is believed to have been a gift from Ida to her husband in 1888 and is engraved with Straus’ initials. Returned to his family it was passed down through generations before Kenneth Hollister Straus, Isidor’s great-grandson, had the movement repaired and restored. It will be sold alongside a rare letter Ida wrote aboard the liner describing its luxury which was posted in Ireland at Queenstown (Cobh). The letter is estimated at £100,000-£150,000, the watch at £800,000-£1 million.
UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR £1.78 MILLION
A menu of the first meal ever served aboard the Titanic made £100,000 at auction in Wiltshire on April 21. It went to a British collector at the auction at Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes. On April 2, on Titanic’s first day of sea trials, officers and crew enjoyed their first meal served in the main dining saloon before being joined by the passengers. The lunch included consommé mirrette, sweetbreads and spring lamb. The menu belonged to Second Officer Charles Lightoller, the most senior crew member to survive, who gave it to his wife as he left Southampton on 10 April 1912.
