London: An original photograph of the gigantic
iceberg that sunk the Titanic nearly 100 years back has been
discovered.
The black and white snapshot was taken by a passenger on
the RMS Carpathia, the ship that belatedly came to the rescue
of 705 survivors of the tragedy of April 14, 1912.
Also visible in the image is the hull of the lifeboat that
saved the lucky survivors from lifeboats adrift in the frozen
Atlantic.
The image was given to J John Pillsbury Snyder, a
24-year-old Minnesota man who was returning from a two-month
honeymoon tour of Europe aboard the Titanic, with his new
bride, Nelle.
It was taken by Mabel Fenwick, another newlywed passenger
on the Carpathia, who had struck up a friendship with the
Snyders, the Daily Mail reported.
The Snyders were among twenty five passengers heading for
Minnesota but they were one of the few who experienced the
luxury of Titanic`s first class quarters.
Snyder was the grandson of Minnesota`s eighth governor,
John Sargent Pillsbury.
While the ship was still in London, Snyder had penned a
letter to a cigar merchant whom he had visited on his trip,
that is now going under the hammer.
The photograph, letter and other items are being auctioned
off as part of a 100-year anniversary sale.
From his cabin he jotted down a 100 word thank-you note on
the official stationery of the Titanic. The letter is dated
April 10 1912, five days before the ship sank, killing 1,523
of the Titanic`s 2,228 passengers.
The letter was posted on a stop in France or Ireland,
before the ship embarked on its journey across the Atlantic,
which is how it survived.
In a previous auction, the letter and other items
belonging to John Snyder were bought by an unknown private
collector for USD 83,500.
"Because of the 100th anniversary...anything written from
the deck of the Titanic on Titanic stationery has extreme
value," Bobby Livingston, of RR Auction said.
PTI
