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Titanic Cushion Fetches Astronomical Price at Auction
5 Apr
Summary
- A Titanic lifeboat cushion with its original plaque is up for auction.
- It is expected to sell for up to £180,000.
- The item is linked to a tea importer who perished in the disaster.
A significant artifact from the Titanic disaster, a canvas cushion from one of the ship's lifeboats, is anticipated to achieve a substantial price at auction. This cushion, bearing its original White Star burgee plaque, is estimated to sell for as much as £180,000.
The item is directly linked to Richard William Smith, a tea importer who was among the 1,500 passengers and crew who perished when the Titanic sank on April 14, 1912. Smith was en route to meet a business associate in Brooklyn, New York, but his body was never recovered.
Following Smith's death, his friend, fellow tea importer T.G. Matthews, acquired the cushion. It remained in Matthews' family, eventually passing to his grandson in 1926. The cushion, still intact with four brass eyelets and its crucial lifeboat plaque, will be sold with supporting documents and a length of rope from the ship.
