LONDON.- Charles Miller Ltd’s auction and sale is open to all and is a unique opportunity to see and buy some of the rare, curious and historic items that will be coming under the hammer next month in London.
The forthcoming sale includes fascinating items relating to Titanic, Nelson, and Shackleton.
Two extremely rare R.M.S Carpathia Medals – one in bronze and one in silver - awarded for the rescue of the survivors of the Titanic are estimated to fetch £4,000-6,000 and £3,000-5,000 respectively when offered for auction in London next month. Inscribed ‘Presented to the Captain, Officers & Crew of R.M.S Carpathia, in recognition of gallant & heroic services from the survivors of the S.S Titanic, April 15th, 1912’. The bronze one is engraved ‘J.J.K Q.M’ – making it even more rare. J.J.K refers to J.J Kirkpatrick – who was known to his crew members as Benjamin and was born in Liverpool. He was just 21 years when made a Quarter Master on the Carpathia and it is believed that he was the man ’at the wheel’ on the fateful night of the sinking and under the orders of Captain Rostron, steered the “gallant little Carpathia” through random ice-flows to reach the disaster scene. It is also recorded that Carpathia’s carpenter, David Eaton, prised the nameplate off Titanic’s lifeboat no.4 and subsequently gave it to Kirkpatrick as a memento.
An emergency helm and two Portholes recovered from a White Star Line wreck, which was a contemporary of Titanic
Built in 1899, S.S. Afric was a passenger/cargo ship of nearly 12,000 tons which was built for White Star Line by Harland & Wolff for the Australian service. It was torpedoed in 1917 – 12 miles SSW of the Eddystone Lighthouse. It is rare that items from White Star Live vessels are offered at auction. Included in the sale will be two portholes from the vessel and the late 19th century emergency docking helm (Combined estimate: £2,300 – 3,200).
A Titanic crewman’s discharge book
James Witter (1880 - 1961) had transferred to the Titanic, just 11 days before the disaster. He was an experienced crewman, who had also worked on the Olympic/Adriatic and Majestic and he was asked to work on the Titanic – a new type of liner. On duty at the time of the collision, he was asked by the some of the passengers to find out what the problem was and encountered the joiner John Hutchinson who told him the bloody mail room's full and then saloon steward William Moss it's really serious, Jim. Latterly he was assisting with lifeboat 11 when, in trying to calm a panic-stricken woman who was thrashing about, they lost their footing and tumbled in to the boat which was being lowered, luckily he was ordered to remain. He remained with White Star (and Cunard White Star) for the rest of his working life and assisted Walter Lord is his seminal account A Night to Remember. He died in 1961, still haunted by the horror he had witnessed. The certificate, which is inscribed Renewal Book/ Original Lost through shipwreck, and the discharge from Titanic is ‘at sea’ is estimated at £1,000-1,500.
A Collection of plans for Titanic’s construction dock by Harland and Wolff, dated 1907/8 which were discovered in an attic in Belfast
These plans pertain to the dockyard extension plans to accommodate the building of the Titanic and her sister ship, the Olympic. The date of these plans indicates how far in advance these huge liners were planned. They carry an estimate of £400-600.
A request signed by Nelson, before he lost his right arm
Among several Nelson items is a letter from Captain Horatio Nelson requesting supplies for H.M.S Agamemnon to Commodore Robert Linzee, which is estimated to fetch £1,500-2,000. Dating from 1793, it is thought that this was written in Cagliari, Sardinia. This was Nelson’s first ship-of-the-line and he writes that we have not a fathom of rope. It was also during his time on this ship that he initially sailed to Toulon via Naples and first encountered Lady Hamilton.
Eye witness account from the Battle of Trafalgar
A rare contemporary account by Lieutenant Paul Harris Nicholas (c.1790-1860). This private pocket journal was kept while aboard H.M.S Belle Isle and includes his service at Trafalgar. Very few contemporary accounts are seen from the ranks of the Royal Marines. His account of Trafalgar takes up no less than 17 sides and includes a plan of attack, notes on men wounded and the Death of Nelson. Estimated at £800 -1,200.
A Pioneer’s photograph album of the earliest submarines in the Royal Navy
A rare archive compiled by one of the earliest British submarine pioneers, Capt. John Moreton dating from the late 19th/ 20th is expected to fetch £2,000-3,000. Moreton was a protégé of Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon and included in the archive, which comprises approx. 170 sepia and black & white images, are views of the first three Royal Navy submarines.
Pre-Britannia racing yacht model … fit for the Prince of Wales
A rare and historically-interesting 1:24 scale builder's model measuring 145 x 203cm. of the twin-masted racing schooner Aline, built by Camper & Nicholson 1860, and later owned by H.R.H. Edward, Prince of Wales 1882-1895 is estimated to fetch £20,000-30,000. The model has been meticulously constructed and is a rare model of this type and even more so, one of a yacht used by Royalty.
Shackelton’s Captain’s antarctic slides and magic lantern
A magic lantern and archive depicting Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Arctic ‘Endurance’ Expedition of 1914-17. The archive, which also includes 400 slides was formerly owned and used by New Zealand-born sailor and explorer Cmdr. Frank Arthur Worsley (1872-1943). Worsley was one of the five crew of the lifeboat christened the James Caird, and took part in one of the greatest open boat voyages ever recorded. Estimate £1,000-1,500
Relics from the foundation of the modern information super highway dating from the mid-19th century.
An historically-interesting and rare sailor’s waterline model of the cable layer Chiltern is estimated at £500-800. Not only is it rare to find a model of a cable layer, but even more rare that it still retains a wide range of accompanying artefacts such as a section of the earliest submarine cables – which laid the foundations for the modern information super highway that we know today.
Was this Joseph Banks’s compass from Captain Cook’s first voyage?
A pocket compass inscribed Sir Joseph Banks/ Compass/ use by him on/ Captain Cooks/ Voyages carries an estimate of £200-400. Sir Joseph banks was part of the ENDEAVOUR Expedition (1768-71). This compass is the correct design and form for the period of James Cook, and the inscription is a tantalising ‘what if’ …
Work from the grand master from the golden age of scrimshaw
A rare 19th-century scrimshaw-decorated whales tooth by Edward Burdett (1805-1833) – who is considered as the greatest exponent of the art - incised over both sides with depictions entitled H.M.S. Sealark / H.M.S. Isis is expected to fetch £5,000-8,000.
A portable time device from Henry VIII’s era
Hardly ever seen at auction, and most commonly viewed behind the glass of a museum cabinet this rare ivory Nuremberg dial by Johann Gebhart dated for 1550 is among the scientific instruments and carries an estimate of £4,000-6,000.
Photographs from one of the earliest travel exploration photographers
A study of a female penguin titled ‘I don’t care what becomes of me’ by Herbert George Ponting (1871-1935) – who accompanied Captain Scott on his last fatal expedition is estimated at £500-800, while a photograph of Spray ridges of ice, Cape Evans, inaccessible island carries an estimate of £700-900.
