A Titanic Treasure

Just before midnight on April 14, 1912, Laura Mabel Francatelli was jolted from her bed by what felt like a huge crash. She was a passenger on board the RMS Titanic, hailed as the biggest and most luxurious ship in the world. The ocean liner was making its first voyage, sailing from England to the United States.

Francatelli, 31, raced to the upper deck. The Titanic had hit an iceberg. Within hours, the vessel carrying more than 2,200 people would sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Francatelli was one of about 700 survivors. The British woman lived another 55 years. Now, more than a century after the shipwreck, the life jacket she wore on that fateful night is making headlines.

The flotation vest recently sold at an auction for $906,000, far more than expected. It is one of only a few Titanic life jackets left and was signed by Francatelli and seven other survivors.

The life jacket likely will not be the last Titanic artifact to sell for a large sum. Experts say that’s because the disaster continues to captivate the world. The ship held people from all walks of life, including immigrants and the very wealthy. Its sinking inspired books, plays, and movies.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge predicts people’s fascination with the Titanic won’t end anytime soon. “There are 2,200 chapters in this story,” he told reporters this past spring. “With these items of memorabilia, we are telling those stories.” 

—Brooke Ross