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Lot 115
Sinking of the Titanic. The Times, London, Monday, April 2-Saturday, June 29, 1912, Nos. 39,861-39,938, 77 issues, full folio, bound in one volume. (24 3/8 x 19 in.; 610 x 500 mm.). Missing first eight pages of April 2nd issue and two pages of the June 29th issue, affecting no Titanic reports. Few occasional short tears mended, papers clean and white with none of the browning normally seen contemporary U.S. newsprint. Boards worn and loose. Altogether a very fine volume.
A three-month run of this highly important newspaper covering the full period of the maiden voyage of the "unsinkable" Titanic which foundered on the morning of April 15, 1912, in the North Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg. Most issues reporting on the Titanic tragedy are United States newspapers that have virtually no accounts of the Titanic's actual sailing, nor any advertisements for its Maiden Voyage.
On April 10th, the largest liner afloat (in fact, the largest moving object ever built) left Southampton for New York with 2,206 passengers and crew including John Jacob Astor and his bride, Benjamin Guggenheim, Canadian railroad executive C.M. Hays, Col. Archibald Butts and many other millionaires and dignitaries. Steaming at full speed on the evening of April 14th, the luxurious vessel "sideswiped" an iceberg, eventually sinking at 2:20 a.m. on April 15th. 1,503 people lost their lives in the tragedy while 703 were picked up by the Cunard steamer Carpathia. The ship had been woefully equipped with lifeboats, one of the key items debated in both the American and British Courts of Inquiry on the tragedy. The disaster has been the subject of numerous books, documentaries, and feature films, the latest becoming a major motion picture which has caught the intense interest of moviegoers worldwide.
In 1985, an expedition led by Dr. Robert Ballard located the lost liner lying some 2 1/2 miles below the ocean's surface. He later descended onto the deck of the ghostly wreck to see chandeliers still hanging in place and identifiable articles strewn about the ocean floor.
Excepting a few issues in early April, virtually every paper contains some account of the disaster including the full testimony in the Courts of Inquiry which went through June. Every issue excepting the April 2nd issue contains a White Star Line advertisement--the first to announce the Titanic's Maiden Voyage, the vessel's next planned passage from Southampton, and finally, the day after the headlines announced the disaster, only the mention of the Olympic's schedule (the Titanic's sister ship).
For many, the excitement is in reading the articles describing the ship and passengers of note about to make the fateful maiden voyage. Among the numerous reports, articles, commentary and even a map of the sinking area, is the following: "THE TITANIC - The White Star liner Titanic, on her maiden voyage to New York, left Queenstown yesterday. She had a good passage from Cherbourg and arrived at the Irish port shortly before noon. On her departure at 1:30 she had on board 350 saloon, 300 second, and 740 third-class passengers, 903 crew, and 3,814 sacks of mails."
The Times issues from 1912 are considered very scarce. Although occasional American newspapers are located with Titanic reportage, British issues do not often surface. And, it is the English newspapers, notably the great London Times, that report on the Titanic's maiden voyage before the disaster occurred, as the vessel was considered the pride of British engineering.
Probably the most complete coverage of the entire affair to be found in any newspaper. A remarkable volume suitable for both entertainment value, and scholarly research.
Estimated Value $4,000 - 6,000
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