Henry Aldridge & Son Limited | Auction of Titanic, White Star, Transport and Icons of the 20th Century.

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Auction of Titanic, White Star, Transport and Icons of the 20th Century.

Unit 1

Bath Road Business Centre

Bath Road

Devizes, Wiltshire

SN10 1XA

United Kingdom

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Apr 26, 2025 12:00 PM BST

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Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

301

Quantity

60,000 GBP

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60,000 GBP

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40,000 - 60,000 GBP

R.M.S. TITANIC : Unique Titanic lettercard from one of the most well known survivors of the disaster, First-Class passenger and author of The Truth About the Titanic Archibald Gracie. The letter card which is separated as per images is believed to be the only example from Gracie in existence from onboard Titanic. Dated April 10 th and postmarked Queenstown 3.45pm April 11 th and London April 12 th it is written over four sides to the vendor’s great uncle who was an acquaintance of Gracie and received it in London at the Waldorf Hotel (he was a European ambassador from Alabama). Letters from survivors of Gracie's profile rarely, if ever, come to market and this piece has never been offered for sale. It reads in part “It is a fine ship but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her. The Oceanic is like an old friend and while she does not possess the elaborate style and varied amusement of this big ship, still her sea worthy qualities and yacht like appearance make me miss her. It was very kind of you to give me this kindly send off, with best wishes for your success and happiness Archibald Gracie. Gracie boarded the Titanic at Southampton on April 10, 1912, and was assigned First-Class cabin C51. He spent much of the voyage chaperoning various unaccompanied women. They included the writer Helen Churchill Candee, 52, and three sisters, née Lamson, who were also in their fifties: Charlotte Appleton, Malvina Cornell, and Caroline Brown. All four women survived the sinking, Gracie socialized with a group he called "Our Coterie", joined by Candee, his friend J. Clinch Smith, and several others. He also spent time reading books he had found in the First-Class library and discussing the Civil War with the businessman Isidor Straus. Gracie was known among the other First-Class passengers as a tireless raconteur who had an inexhaustible supply of stories about Chickamauga and the Civil War in general. On April 14, Gracie decided that he had neglected his health and spent some time in physical exercise on the squash courts and in the ship's swimming pool. He then attended church services, had an early lunch, and spent the rest of the day reading and socializing. He went to bed early, intending on an early start the next morning on the ship's squash courts. At about 11:40 pm ship's time Gracie was jarred awake by a jolt. He sat up, realized the ship's engines were no longer moving, and partially dressed, putting on a Norfolk jacket over his regular clothes. Gracie joined Smith at the foot of the forward First-Class Grand Staircase on A Deck. Smith showed Gracie a piece of ice that had fallen off the berg. Reaching the Boat Deck, Gracie realized the ship was listing slightly. He returned to his cabin to put on his life jacket and on the way back found the women he had been chaperoning. He escorted them up to the Boat Deck and made sure they entered lifeboats. He then retrieved blankets for the women in the boats, and along with his friend Smith assisted Second Officer Charles Lightoller in filling the remaining lifeboats with women and children. Once the last regular lifeboat had been launched at 1:55 am on the 15 th , Gracie and Smith assisted Lightoller and others in freeing the four Engelhardt collapsible boats that were stored atop the crew quarters and attached to the roof by heavy cords and canvas lashings. Gracie had to lend Lightoller his penknife so the boats could be freed. The men were able to launch Collapsibles "C" and "D" and free Collapsible "A" from its lashings, but while they were freeing Collapsible "B" from its place the bridge was suddenly awash. Gracie later wrote about the moment: “My friend Clinch Smith made the proposition that we should leave and go toward the stern. But there arose before us from the decks below a mass of humanity several lines deep converging on the Boat Deck facing us and completely blocking our passage to the stern. There were women in the crowd as well as men and these seemed to be steerage passengers who had just come up from the decks below. Even among these people there was no hysterical cry, no evidence of panic. Oh the agony of it” As the fore part of the ship dipped below the surface and the water rushed towards them, Gracie jumped with the wave, caught a handhold, and pulled himself up to the roof of the bridge. The undertow caused by the ship's sinking pulled Gracie down; he freed himself from the ship and rose to the surface near the overturned Collapsible "B". Gracie scrambled onto the overturned lifeboat along with a few dozen other men in the water. His friend Clinch Smith perished; his body never recovered. In his memoir, Gracie surmises Smith became entangled with the ropes and other debris on the ship and could not free himself. Gracie made it to the capsized Collapsible "B". Realising the risk to the boat of being swamped by the mass of swimmers around them, they paddled slowly away, ignoring the pleas of dozens of swimmers to be allowed on board. In his account, Gracie wrote of the admiration he had for those in the water; "In no instance, I am happy to say, did I hear any word of rebuke from a swimmer because of a refusal to grant assistance... [one refusal] was met with the manly voice of a powerful man... 'All right boys, good luck and God bless you'." As the night wore on, the exhausted, freezing, and soaking wet men aboard the overturned Collapsible "B" found it almost impossible to remain on the slick keel. Gracie later wrote that over half the men who had originally reached the collapsible either died from exhaustion or cold and slipped off the upturned keel during the night. As dawn broke and it became possible for those in other lifeboats to see them, Second Officer Lightoller (who was also on the collapsible, along with Wireless Operator Harold Bride) used his officer's whistle to attract the other boats' attention; eventually lifeboats Nos. 4 and 12 rowed over and rescued the survivors of the overturned boat. Gracie was so tired that he was unable to make the jump himself. He was pulled into lifeboat No. 12, the last lifeboat to reach R.M.S. Carpathia (the first rescue ship to arrive). Gracie returned to New York City aboard Carpathia and immediately started on a book about his experiences aboard Titanic and Collapsible "B". His is one of the most detailed accounts of the events of the evening; Gracie spent months trying to determine exactly who was in each lifeboat and when certain events took place. Gracie never recovered from the ordeal he endured in the sinking of Titanic ; as a diabetic, his health was severely affected by the hypothermia and physical injuries he suffered. It was reported, though, that he was well enough to attend a Thanksgiving reception at the Hotel Gotham. Gracie fell into a coma on December 2, 1912 and died of complications from diabetes on December 4 th 1912. His book was published in 1913 under the original title, The Truth about the Titanic . 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. A truly exceptional museum grade piece.

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

302

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1,200 GBP

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2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

303

Quantity

32,000 GBP

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32,000 GBP

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30,000 - 50,000 GBP

R.M.S TITANIC : Part One of the Ernest Portage Tomlin Collection which is one of the most complete archives to have come to market in the past 30 years and the following lots form the first part of the archive. The collection has been within the family since 1912 having only been looked at sporadically over the past 113 years so is fresh to the market having never been offered for sale before. Ernest Portage Tomlin was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada on 29 September 1890. He was the son of English parents, Edwin Tomlin (b. 1858) and Harriet Levinia Statham (b. 1854), natives of Uxbridge and Pinner, respectively who had married in Kensington, London in 1878. His father was a baker and later ran his own business in Notting Hill, London. One of ten children, with seven surviving infancy, Ernest's known siblings were: William (b. 1879), Edwin (b. 14 November 1883), Lillie (b. 1887), Grace (b. 1891), Albert (b. 1895) and Mary (b. 1896). He was the only one of his siblings born in Canada. Tomlin, travelling with a friend Harry Cook left British shores on 21 August 1907 aboard the Majestic ; described as a clerk, he arrived in New York six days later and stated his destination as Des Moines, Iowa to the home of a friend, Reverend J. N. Williams of 1212 388th Street in that city. He was described as standing at 5' 7" and with brown hair, grey eyes and a fair complexion. Intent on entering the ministry, Tomlin enrolled at The Bible College of Drake University located in Des Moines. An A-grade student, he took difficult courses which included advanced arithmetic, physics, botany, Hebrew history, Latin, among others. In January 1910 he paid a return visit home, travelling aboard the New York (which two years later nearly collided with the Titanic ), and for his return to the USA on 7 April that year aboard the St Louis he was described as being in good health and that he had grown three inches since his last entrance to the USA, by now standing 6'. By early 1912 Ernest had decided to return to Drake University and complete his degree. He purchased a Third-Class passage originally on the Adriatic and was moved to Titanic (ticket number 364499 which cost £8, 1s) and was apparently travelling alone. At first there was hope that Tomlin was not on the Titanic but that was quickly dispelled. The Des Moines Register (17 April 1912) revealed that he had written two letters to friends in England, a Will Mander from Birmingham, and A. H. "Harry" Cook. Mr Mander, whose home is in Birmingham, Eng., is a personal friend of Mr Tomlin. "I received a letter from Ernest last week, stating that he was sailing for America on April 10, from Southampton," said Mr Mander. " We find that the Titanic was the only boat that left Southampton on that date and have every reason to believe that he was one of the passengers. I believe that he travelled third class." "I came over from England with Mr Tomlin four years ago to study at Drake University," said Mr Cook. "He attended school at Drake for more than two years and left for home last year on account of sickness. We have every reason to believe that he was a passenger on the Titanic ." ( The Des Moines Register , 17 April 1912) It soon became clear that Tomlin was among the lost. Repeated requests were made to the White Star Line to determine if Tomlin actually sailed. Wireless messages listing the names of survivors were searched but his name was not among the listed saved. Finally, word was received in a telegram to H. W. Warren, a Des Moines ticket agent that read: "Ernest Tomlin appears on the list of Third-Class passengers of the White Star line as having sailed, but not on the list of rescued." His body and effects were described: N0. 50. - MALE. - ESTIMATED AGE, 30. - HAIR, FAIR. CLOTHING - Black coat; no vest, blue striped flannel shirt. EFFECTS - Two pocket books; silver watch; pencil; papers, diary, fountain pen; comb; $87 in notes; £1 10s. in gold; and 2s. 9d. THIRD CLASS TICKET No. 364424. NAME - ERNEST POSTAGE TOMLIN. R.M.S. TITANIC : Ernest Tomlin Archive. Extremely rare Manifest sheet and Inspection card belonging to Mr Tomlin, the former is marked List No 5 SS Titanic with the Number 17 in blue ghosted from water immersion and mirrored from the Inspection card which it was attached to. The latter is for immigrants and steerage passengers in Southampton and is stamped to confirm it had been inspected prior to departure. It is printed SS Titanic with his ticket number 364424 and his full name. Both bear significant signs of immersion in the North Atlantic as they were onboard the Titanic and were recovered from Ernest’s body and returned to his family. 4½ins x 3½ins and 5½ins x 4½ins. Ernest's body was identified onboard the Mackay-Bennett by this very ticket.

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

304

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22,000 GBP

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40,000 - 60,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

305

Quantity

6,000 GBP

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6,000 GBP

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10,000 - 15,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

306

Quantity

8,000 GBP

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8,000 GBP

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10,000 - 15,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

307

Quantity

440 GBP

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440 GBP

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800 - 1,200 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

308

Quantity

550 GBP

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550 GBP

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1,000 - 1,500 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

309

Quantity

550 GBP

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550 GBP

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1,000 - 1,500 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

310

Quantity

550 GBP

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550 GBP

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1,000 - 1,500 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

311

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0 GBP

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1,100 GBP

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2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

312

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0 GBP

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800 GBP

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1,500 - 2,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

313

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0 GBP

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1,100 GBP

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2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

314

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1,100 GBP

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2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

315

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0 GBP

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800 GBP

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1,500 - 2,500 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

316

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1,100 GBP

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2,000 - 3,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

317

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0 GBP

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800 GBP

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1,500 - 2,500 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

318

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0 GBP

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320 GBP

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600 - 1,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

319

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320 GBP

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600 - 1,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

320

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0 GBP

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6,000 GBP

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10,000 - 15,000 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

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R.M.S. TITANIC - THE SAMUEL ALFRED SMITH ARCHIVE:

321

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480 GBP

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800 - 1,200 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

322

Quantity

9,000 GBP

Opening bid

9,000 GBP

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15,000 - 20,000 GBP

R.M.S. TITANIC : First-Class passenger archive relating to Erik Gustaf Lind. From Gryt in Sweden, Erik did not survive the sinking. The archive includes a handwritten letter and envelope on Titanic stationery, signed photograph, US Military citation, medal, rare extract relating to the supposed death of a passenger on Titanic and other ephemera. The letter reads as follows: "Good morning sweetheart. I didn’t send yesterday's letter from Cherbourg but is sending it now from Queenstown Ireland where we also have passed. I have now properly started my diet and put away all liquor. Slept pretty well, dreamt of you and that Liljeholm was out and drove us. It is now 10:30 a.m., so you are in the henhouse taking care of your little protégés. Speaking of Johns friend Mr. Nilsson wanted a couple score 25 öre a piece. Maybe John has written. Well you don’t have such interest when you don’t own it yourself. The night before yesterday I dreamt of you and that Jansson Fellow. So remember what I swore you. Should I know of such would I shoot him right away. Yes my dear love I know that I can believe and trust you. I could never be unfaithful. You are for me ever and to all women on earth could not compensate you. You maybe have to…" In 1887 Erik travelled to the United States with a Master's and Maritime pilot's degree and acquired American citizenship in 1892. For the sake of simplicity, he changed his name to Lind. He eventually received a position as Pilot Captain in the port of New York. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Eric enlisted in the navy. When the Spanish Admiral Pascual Cervera saw his fleet defeated, he threw himself into the sea. Eric discovered the admiral and threw himself after him and saved him. The admiral gave him his sword as a thank you which is still in the family’s possession. Eric himself was appointed a second lieutenant in the navy and at the end of the war he was hailed as one of the heroes of the day in New York. Later he was sent as commander of one of the navy's rescue ships to the East Asian Ocean (now the Pacific Ocean/Indian Ocean) and managed to salvage four large American battleships that were grounded during the Boxer Rebellion in China. For this he was further promoted. When Mont Pelé erupted in 1902 on the island of Martinique, where 40,000 people died, Eric Lind was sent to rescue the survivors. It was a risky mission. Through a rain of red-hot lava, he was the first of all to get to the island. Photographs that he took bear witness to the immense destruction of the island and its buildings. He later resigned from the navy and received the rank of Captain Commander in the reserve. After a few years of devoting himself to business, Eric longed to return home and managed to purchase his beloved estate Jordanstorp in 1908 for SEK 150.000:- He thus fulfilled the promise he had made to his mother on the very same day that his father was buried. Back at Jordanstorp Eric reunited with Elsa Dubois née Karsten (1868-1966), whom he had known since his youth. The Karsten family lived in Stockholm and had the nearby estate Fastmyra Estate as their summer house. Elsa was divorced from Cavalry captain Hjalmar Dubois and had four children whom the youngest Raoul Åke Dubois (1904-2001) became Eric's stepson. Eric and Elsa were married in 1909. After a few years, however, worries began to mount. Eric had started doing business again but was sadly unsuccessful. He took loans from moneylenders and in the end there was no other way out for him than to go back to the United States to resume business there. He had previously been married to an American woman, and he did not want her to know about his arrival there as lists of First-Class passengers were published in the newspapers. However, it was not possible to wait for a different transit than Titanic . For his journey in First-Class Eric Lind called himself Edward Lingrey since he wished to travel incognito. Due to travelling under a different name, it was difficult for the family to prove that Eric had been on board the Titanic , but letters to his wife Elsa, to his mother and to his mother-in-law Therese Karsten on Titanic stationery that were posted in Queenstown in Ireland proved this. Erik also made the acquaintance of another First-Class passenger Mauritz Björnström-Steffanson on board and revealed his identity to him and mentioned that he was the brother-in-law of Captain Karsten, his wife Elsa's brother. Mauritz Björnström was later able to confirm that Eric Lind had been on board. He could tell how they had helped their fellow passengers on board in the lifeboats, when the Titanic listed so much that the water came up to the deck where they were, they had no choice but to jump into the icy water. Mauritz Björnström managed to get into a lifeboat but Eric Lind perished. Eric Lind was not only an excellent sailor and skilled horseman, but he also had a great interest in poetry. He translated many famous Swedish poets into English and wrote poetry himself in English which he had printed and bound in suede bindings with gold trim which he gifted to his friends. Three copies remain, one of which is also included in the lot. Erik’s wife Elsa mourned her great love Erik Gustaf Lind deeply and wore only black until her passing in 1966, 54 years after his death. A superb archive that has remained in the ownership of the family since 1912.

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

323

Quantity

0 GBP

Opening bid

1,500 GBP

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Estimate

2,500 - 3,500 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

324

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0 GBP

Opening bid

18,000 GBP

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30,000 - 50,000 GBP

R.M.S. TITANIC : A partly gilt silver and brass open-face pin-set pocket watch, white enamel dial with Roman numerals and outer Arabic numerals, case decorated with turtle doves. Diam. 32 mm. Hands missing, worn gilding. Personally owned and found among the possessions of Danish Second-Class Passenger Hans Christensen Givard, Body No. 305, who perished in the sinking of Titanic in 1912. Hans Givard and his two friends, farm worker Einar Windeløv and blacksmith Martin Ponesell headed for America aboard the Titanic leaving Southampton on April 10 th 1912. At that time, Givard was a well-dressed young man of 27 who, consistent with his social standing, was travelling second class. When the disaster occurred on the night of 14 th April and the Titanic sank, the adventure came to an abrupt end for the three friends, all of whom were lost in the sinking. Givard’s body was recovered from the cold North Atlantic and later buried at Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Canada, on 10 May 1912. The listing in the inventory of those lost states: “ No. 305 2nd class passenger. Male, estimated age 36. Very fair hair and moustache. Dark brown striped suit, black overcoat, white shirt labelled ‘D.M.’, no socks, a white shoe and pink underpants. ” In the pockets were found a savings book, some keys, some cash in a wallet, silver watch, compass, a passport issued by the Consulate General in Buenos Aires and a home town certificate from Vorde, Fiskbæk and Romlund Parish Municipality issued on 14 August 1911. The gilded ladies’ pocket watch up for auction was also found in Givard’s pocket and bears traces of salt water corrosion. All his belongings were returned to his brother Hans Christian Christensen Givard in Denmark, and it is his descendants who have now consigned the watch to auction. The ill-fated story of Hans Christensen Givard directly inspired curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and US resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to write the book “ Titanic – De Danske Fortællinger ” ( Titanic – The Danish Stories ), where the pocket watch is mentioned. It was also exhibited by Claes Goran Wetterholm, the leading authority globally on the Scandinavian element of the Titanic story at “ Titanic – The Exhibition” in the Hans Christian Andersen Castle at Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012. Several links are available on YouTube of media coverage in 2012 surrounding the watch and its exhibition in Copenhagen.

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

325

Quantity

0 GBP

Opening bid

240 GBP

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Estimate

400 - 600 GBP

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

326

Quantity

0 GBP

Opening bid

9,000 GBP

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0 GBP

Max bid

GBP

Estimate

15,000 - 25,000 GBP

R.M.S. TITANIC: SCHNABEL - 19th CENTURY AMERICAN PORTRAIT OIL ON CANVAS OF TITANIC SURVIVOR ELEANOR ELKINS WIDENER. Beautiful and stately original portrait, oil on canvas, depicting First-Class survivor Eleanor Widener (nee Elkins) circa 1880s. The canvas measures approx. 25ins. x 30ins. (63cm x 76cm) with an overall size including frame of 34ins. x 39ins. (86cm x 99cm). The portrait is housed in a magnificent period gold leaf frame that is original to the piece. When Mrs Widener sat for this portrait, she would have likely been in her 20s. The Widener mansion, known as Lynnewood Hall, is in Elkins Park, U.S.A. The 110-room Georgian-style mansion included a sun-lit art wing in which this portrait was likely displayed. The mansion still exists, although no longer in the Widener family. The painting is signed by E. Schnabel besides Mrs. Widener's left shoulder. Edward Schnabel was a German/American portrait artist based in Philadelphia, sharing a studio there with John F. Finkeldey. Schnabel truly captured the essence and beauty of his subject in this painting. Examples of Schnabel's work are held at the Smithsonian and also the Library of Congress. Mr and Mrs George D. Widener boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg with their son, Harry Elkins Widener, Mr Widener's manservant, Edwin Keeping, and the Widener's maid, Amalie Gieger. They occupied First-Class cabins C80/82. The Wideners are renowned for having hosted the dinner for Captain Smith on the night of the disaster. Questions have arisen as to whether Smith had imbibed too much alcohol at this dinner party but these rumours have been founded on conjecture rather than fact. After losing her husband and son, Harry, Mrs. Widener made a large donation to Harvard University for the creation of the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library which continues to house Harry's large collection of books. Today, it is considered to be the world's largest academic library. Although Harvard maintains over 700 portraits throughout its halls, it does not possess a portrait of its library's benefactor. Eleanor Elkins Widener died in Paris on 13th July 1937. Upon her death, her estate passed to her son, George Dunton Widener, Jr. Upon his death in 1971, his estate passed to the Widener's grandson, Fitz Eugene Dixon, Jr., a Philadelphia philanthropist and the son of the Widener's daughter. Upon Mr Dixon's death on 7th August 2006, he was interred in the Widener family mausoleum near Elkins Park and some of his estate items, including this portrait of his famous grandmother, were distributed. The painting was restored by the Dixon family with two small areas of visible retouching in the upper right background not affecting the image. There is also a very minor loss to the frame in the upper left corner. The frame was professionally relined and re-stretched. The reverse of the original frame is inscribed "Eleanor Elkins" in period writing, and "Mr. Dixon" was written in white chalk on the new stretcher by the restorer. The artist did an impeccable job choosing a background colour which created the perfect contrast for his subject's cream-coloured facial features and her striking blue eyes. We are unaware of another period portrait of a renowned Titanic passenger such as this coming to public sale. This lot may present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire an original period portrait of one of Titanic's most notable and influential passengers. A true museum piece. Provenance: Eleanor Elkins Widener collection, thence by descent. Ex-Henry Aldridge and Son lot 248 October 2009.

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Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

Featured lot Provisionally sold Leading Won Outbid Lost Declined Reserve not met Leading

327

Quantity

0 GBP

Opening bid

240 GBP

Buy it now price

0 GBP

Max bid

GBP

Estimate

400 - 600 GBP

VIEW & BID

Please enter your max bid

Auction date(s): Apr 26

Lot location: Devizes, Wiltshire

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