Titanic deckchair sells for £100,000 at auction

A deckchair recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic has sold for £100,000 at auction in Wiltshire.

The Nantucket wooden chair was on the first class promenade deck of the luxury liner when it sank in the Atlantic after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912.

Described as "one of the rarest types of Titanic collectable" of historic importance, the chair was sold at the Henry Aldridge and Son auction house to an unnamed UK-based collector.

The deckchair was found bobbing on the surface of the Atlantic and salavaged by the crew of the Mackay-Bennett, who were sent to recover the bodies of the victims. The Mackay-Bennett's log records six or seven deckchairs being picked up and taken back to port in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Mr Aldridge said it was probably given to French cable ship captain Julien Lemarteleur by a crew member of the Mackay-Bennett, along with the piece of cork from a Titanic lifejacket.

"The in-depth provenance documentation confirms the chain of custody of the deckchair through from Capt Lemarteleur in 1912 through to the present day," he said.

"The sale price reflected not only the importance of the deckchair as a relic from the Titanic but also the ongoing interest in the liner 103 years after her demise. The winning bidder is a UK-based collector of iconic pieces of history."

The previous owner of the deckchair, an English Titanic collector, had kept it for 15 years as a display item, by a large window overlooking the sea at his home on the south coast.

The chair has never been used due to its fragile state and was professionally conserved several years ago.

With a sale estimate of £70,000 to £80,000, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said he was "very, very pleased" with the final price.

1,500 people died when the Titanic, dubbed 'The Unsinkable", sank on 14 April 1912 en route to New York from Southampton.