A leather case that protected the violin played by the Titanic’s bandleader when the ship sank is to sell for £120,000 at auction.
Wallace Hartley and his orchestral band continued to play to reassure passengers as the disaster of 1912 unfolded around them.
Wallace went down with the ship, but not before putting his wooden violin back into his suitcase, which he tied to himself, possibly to float, using the long handles.
Days after the sinking that killed 1,522 people, Wallace’s drowned body was recovered with the bag still attached to him.
A leather case that protected the violin played by the Titanic’s bandleader when the ship sank is to sell for £120,000 at auction.
Wallace Hartley and his orchestral band continued to play to reassure passengers as the disaster of 1912 unfolded around them. Pictured: A rare order of service for Wallace’s funeral held on 18 May 1912 at Colne Cemetery.
Days after the sinking of the Titanic that killed 1,522 people, Wallace’s drowned body was recovered with the bag still tied to him
The violin was sold at auction for a world record price of £1.1 million after forensic tests and CT scans confirmed it was the one played on the Titanic 101 years earlier.
The violin and case were later returned to Wallace’s fiancée, Maria Robinson, at her home in Colne, Lancs.
After his death in 1939, the items were donated to the Bridlington Salvation Army band.
One of its members was a music teacher and in the 40s they gave the violin to one of their students.
Years later, it was inherited by his son, who sold it at auction for a world record price of £1.1 million after forensic tests and CT scans confirmed it was the one played on the Titanic 101 years earlier. .
The instrument, the most valuable Titanic-related artifact in existence, is now on display at the Titanic Museum in Belfast.
The 26in x 14in x 12in case, which bears Wallace’s initials WHH, is now selling at auction for £100,000 to £120,000. It belongs to a private collector.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge and son of Devixes, Wilts, said: “Wallace Hartley’s violin is the most iconic piece of Titanic memorabilia ever sold at auction.”
“However, I would not have survived if it were not for this English coach’s suitcase made of leather.
‘Wallace would have used the long straps to hold the bag to himself as the Titanic sank. It served to protect the instrument against salty sea water.
The case measures 26 inches x 14 inches x 12 inches and has Wallace’s initials WHH.
The bag will be auctioned on April 27. A rare order of service for Wallace’s funeral held on May 18, 1912 at Colne Cemetery will be sold with it.
‘The bag was forensically tested and corrosion deposits were recovered from the lock mechanism and metal frame and found to be consistent with it having been submerged in seawater.
‘The bag is one of the largest pieces of luggage to have survived the disaster.
“It is a tangible link to the Titanic and represents an integral part of the Hartley violin’s journey from the Titanic to the present day.”
Wallace Hartley received the maple, spruce and ebony violin with brown leather case from Maria Robinson in 1910.
Two years later he was the bandleader of the Titanic on its doomed maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
After Wallace Hartley’s body was recovered, the suitcase is believed to have been listed as “luggage” among his personal effects.
Wallace Hartley received the maple, spruce and ebony violin with brown leather case from Maria Robinson in 1910.
To keep calm, the eight-piece orchestra was brought on deck and played songs while passengers were loaded into lifeboats when the liner sank after hitting an iceberg.
Hartley, 33, was one of 1,522 people who died in the tragedy.
After his body was recovered, the suitcase is believed to have been listed as “luggage” among his personal effects.
The bag will be auctioned on April 27. A rare order of service for Wallace’s funeral held on May 18, 1912 at Colne Cemetery will be sold with it.