A letter written by a Titanic passenger just days before the disaster is heading to auction, with organizers expecting to fetch around £35,000 for the unique historical document, reports infohub.kz.
The author is Henry Price Hodges, a second-class passenger. On April 10, the day the legendary liner departed, he wrote to his friend Hector Young of the Newtown Conservative Association in Southampton. Hodges was en route to Boston to visit relatives. In the letter, he enthusiastically described life on board: fine weather, a friendly atmosphere, and remarkable calm. He noted that on the upper deck, boys marched in a circle singing songs, while in the saloons passengers played dominoes and cards, read books, and relaxed. He remarked that the atmosphere on the ship was nothing like what one would typically expect during a sea voyage.
However, a few days later, on the night of April 15, the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank. Henry Price Hodges perished in the disaster. His body was later recovered and buried at Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. According to auctioneers, second-class passenger letters are among the rarest surviving Titanic artifacts. Such documents offer a glimpse into daily life aboard the legendary liner through the eyes of its passengers.