Titanic Survivor Francatelli's Life Jacket Sells for £670,000 at Devizes Auction
Laura Mabel Francatelli's Titanic life jacket sold for £670,000 at auction in Devizes. Signed by eight survivors, it exceeded its £350,000 estimate. Other items, including a lifeboat cushion and Frederick Sutton's watch, also sold for £390,000 and £180,000 respectively.
A life jacket worn by Titanic survivor Laura Mabel Francatelli sold for £670,000 (€770,000) at auction in Devizes, England. Francatelli, a first-class passenger, wore the vest on lifeboat number one; it was later signed by eight fellow survivors, including firemen Charles Hendrickson and George Taylor, and able seaman James Horswill.
The auction at Henry Aldridge and Son included 344 lots, with about 15 items from the ship, which sank 114 years ago. A seat cushion from a lifeboat, featuring an original Titanic lifeboat plaque, sold for £390,000 to the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri. It will go on exhibition.
An 18-carat gold case pocket watch owned by first-class passenger Frederick Sutton, whose body was recovered and his effects bagged, sold for £180,000. The life jacket was expected to fetch up to £350,000. Francatelli was the secretary to fashion designer Lucy Duff-Gordon and was also accompanied on the trip by Duff-Gordon’s husband, Cosmo Duff Gordon.