Titanic passenger list brings $33,900 at Philip Weiss sale A rare, second-class passenger list from the doomed ocean liner the Titanic sold for $33,900 at a three-day multi-estate sale held June 20-22 by Philip Weiss Auctions in Oceanside, New York.
RARE PASSENGER LIST FROM THE DOOMED OCEAN LINER TITANIC FETCHES $33,900
AT MULTI-ESTATE SALE HELD JUNE 20-22 BY PHILIP WEISS AUCTIONS IN NEW YORK
(Oceanside, N.Y.) - A rare, second-class passenger list from the doomed ocean liner the Titanic, produced by White Star Line and with the words “Titanic, First Sailing, April 12, 1912” handwritten on the cover, sold for $33,900 at a three-day multi-estate sale conducted June 20-22 by Philip Weiss Auctions. The list was from the estate of Ken Schultz, a dedicated collector of ocean liner memorabilia.
“Titanic memorabilia is aggressively sought after by collectors worldwide, and we were very fortunate to have been able to include this extremely rare piece in our June sale,” said Philip Weiss. “The passenger list probably drew as much attention as any of the more than 2,000 lots that changed hands. We knew Ken Schultz's collection would be a highlight. He really brought out the collectors.”
The Titanic item was not the top lot of the sale. That honor went to an original pen-and-ink Sunday “Peanuts” comic strip by the late Charles Schulz. Dated July 14, 1963, the strip showed Charlie Brown and Snoopy, with Snoopy dancing for his supper. It soared to $61,020. Also, a daily comic strip by Schulz, four panels, dated February 24, 1956, featuring Charlie Brown and Lucy, achieved $28,250.
The crowd was modest by Philip Weiss standards – about 140 registered bidders each day on hand – a fact Mr. Weiss attributed to the mild weather. However, the sale drew around 2,500 Internet bidders (via eBay Live and LiveAuctioneers.com), about 4,000 pre-sale absentee bids and enough phone bids to keep the board blazing all weekend long. “We were busy, that's for sure,” Mr. Weiss said.
In all, the auction grossed right around $500,000 – not a record-setter for a Philip Weiss auction, but not disappointing, either. “We had a handful of better items that actually sold for far more than I thought they would,” he commented, “while the mid-level and lower items brought mostly lukewarm, average prices. But for a summer sale meant to clean out some inventory, it was all we had hoped for.”
Following are additional auction highlights. All prices quoted include a 13% buyer's premium.
Rivaling the Titanic item for intense bidder interest was a lot of items relating to the legendary horse race between the filly Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure, held July 6, 1975, in which Ruffian sustained severe leg injuries that led to her being put down the next day. Auctioned were the silk shirt worn by Ruffian's jockey, Jacinto Vasquez; one of Ruffian's horseshoes from the race; and a bandage safety pin.
“These are items that probably belong in a museum,” Mr. Weiss remarked. “They are equivalent to a game-worn jersey from a Triple Crown winner in baseball. The lot sold for just $11,300, which I thought was a really good buy.” An aside: Jacinto Vasquez was the jockey for both Ruffian and
