Wallace Hartley's violin in its case (pictured) was found strapped to his body after the sinking of the Titanic. After years of authentication, they are finally being auctioned for an estimated £400,000
Posted on 10/12/2013 4:49:57 AM PDT by NYer
The violin played by the bandmaster of the Titanic as the ship was sinking is finally being auctioned for an estimated £400,000.
The historic instrument, which underwent a CT scan to prove it is the real deal, is expected to make a world record sum for a piece of Titanic memorabilia at the British auction, which is attracting huge international interest.
The wooden fiddle has been forensically proven to be the one used by Wallace Hartley as his band famously played on to help keep the passengers calm during the disaster.
Wallace Hartley's violin in its case (pictured) was found strapped to his body after the sinking of the Titanic. After years of authentication, they are finally being auctioned for an estimated £400,000
Wallace Hartley famously carried on playing his violin with the band to keep the passengers calm during the disaster. The instrument was gifted to him by his fiance, Miss Robinson to mark their engagement in 1910 - shown by the silver plaque pictured left. Mr Hartley's signet ring is pictured right
The British musician kept the violin and sheet music in a leather valise case that was recovered from his drowned body days afterwards.
Its existence and survival only emerged in 2006 when the son of an amateur violinist who was gifted it by her music teacher in the early 1940s, contacted the auctioneers.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ping!
I would guess that goes for more than £400,000 at auction.
It doesn’t even come with four strings! What a gyp.
Water usually ruins a fiddle. 2 strings, ruined fiddle, 400,00
Nobel of this guy to keep playing, but I just cannot imagine anything that would calm most people down when facing death.
I thought that fiddle was at the WhiteHut.
Really hard to authenticate..... it has his name on it, in a case with his initials on it, strapped to his dead body, good enough for me.
one word - provenance
And the band played on...
ping
Violin ping!
In case any of you are wondering, the CT scan unequivocally proves authenticity because they matched right up with the CT scans of the same instrument taken before the Titanic sank.
Well what a coincidence. Time to bring out that violin and play it because this nation is heading toward an Iceberg with a Evil Commie leading it. Hmmm I wonder what song would be perfect for our nation?
Why was he still only engaged after 2 years?
“...I just cannot imagine anything that would calm most people down when facing death.”
Faith and courage are a good start. I see those two twin sisters of virtue and spiritual maturity demonstrated everyday in the hospital from some facing death.
The acknowledgement that death is inevitable for us all should be a part of our young’s socialization as they mature. Timing and manner then become pretty much irrelevant when you embrace your own mortality.
Struggle mightily against the darkness....but when it becomes a forgone conclusion instead of whining and begging from a merciless foe.....meet it with class.
Then we can be like Benjamin Guggenheim: “No, thank you. We are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down as gentlemen. But, we would like a brandy.”
The toughest humans I have every met where not football stars, policemen, firemen or even the hardest Marine. The toughest humans with the biggest hearts, minds and spirits are children battling cancer.
I think you mean noble.
he couldn’t play very well.
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