By Beth Hall
Just days before the Titanic passenger ship sank, first-class passenger and British businessman Richard William Smith from Cork, Ireland mailed the postcard to Olive Dakin in Norwich, England. Mr. Smith wrote on the postcard, “Have had a fine run around Queenstown. Just leaving for the land of Stars and Stripes. Hope you are all quite well at home. Kindest regards, R.W.S.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Smith, a tea broker, never made it to America. The postcard was postmarked April 11, 1912, just four days before the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean with Mr. Smith and 1,500 other passengers and crew members onboard.
The press in November of last year reported the postcard was part of an auction lot of Titanic memorabilia placed up for bidding. The 112-year-old postcard garnered more than $12,000 at auction plus fees for a grand total of $25,000. The historic card was one of hundreds of Titanic artifacts that were auctioned off as part of an auction lot of a “Titanic, White Star and Transport Memorabilia” sale. The managing director of the auction house commented to the press that the card was, “a very powerful and poignant object because this is one of the last things that Mr. Smith wrote, first and foremost.”
Another piece of Titanic memorabilia was sold for an even higher price tag. The press reported that an 18-carat gold Tiffany & Co. pocket watch gifted to ocean liner captain Arthur Rostron by three women he saved, sold for a winning bid of $1.976 million. The captain is credited with saving the lives of 700 Titanic passengers. An inscription inside the pocket watch case reads, “Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th, 1912, Mrs. John B. Thayer, Mrs. John Jacob Astor and Mrs. George D. Widener.” The three women’s husbands went down with the ship.
Closer to home, the Titanic Memorial in Southwest DC became the site of a spontaneous outpouring of support for victims of the plane and helicopter crash near Reagan National Airport. In early February, there were several bouquets of flowers left along with a note paying tribute to the victims, especially the children. The memorial serves as an opportunity for neighbors to reckon with tragedy and remember those whose lives were lost.
