One lucky “Titanic” fan is now the owner of a script from the 1997 blockbuster after it was signed by the lead star, Leonardo DiCaprio, and sold at a recent auction.
The piece of memorabilia fetched £620 (approximately $820) at Clevedon Salerooms in South West England last week and included autographs from several members of the film’s main cast.
Over the years, a variety of items connected to the doomed ocean liner itself have gone under the hammer, including a life jacket, a watch, and even a dinner menu.
Many pieces of “Titanic” memorabilia have been sold at auctions over the years, but the latest item has nothing to do with the doomed vessel itself. Instead, it is tied to the iconic film made about it.
Last week at Clevedon Salerooms in North Somerset, England, a script from the 1997 romantic tragedy was sold to a lucky fan after an intense bidding war among him and two others, per the BBC.
Despite the competition, it went for just over $820, a surprisingly low price compared to actual memorabilia from the ship, which has previously fetched several thousand dollars.
The script also comes with the added appeal of signatures from the main cast, including DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who played the lead roles of Jack and Rose.
Other signatures on the piece include Billy Zane, who played Cal Hockley; Kathy Bates, who portrayed Molly Brown; Gloria Stuart, who starred as old Rose; and veteran director James Cameron.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘Titanic’ Script Labeled The ‘Perfect’ Find
Having the cast’s autographs on the script gives it a higher personal worth, according to valuer and auctioneer Henry Michallat.
In describing the purchase, Michallat also told the outlet that it was “a physical connection to one of the greatest films ever made.”
He then noted the fan’s good fortune in owning the piece, highlighting how other real Titanic items often sell for prices out of reach for the average film enthusiast.
“[Scripts] don’t come to auction that often compared to other Titanic memorabilia – pieces of furniture, ceramics, clothing – which usually fetch very high prices,” Michallat further remarked. “So, this was a really perfect, affordable piece for a fan.”
Actual Titanic Life Jacket Sold For $885,000
Two months ago, another piece of Titanic memorabilia sold for a whopping $885,000 at an auction held by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The item in question was an actual life jacket worn by Laura Mabel Francatelli, one of the survivors of the Titanic shipwreck in April 1912.
Francatelli and several of her fellow survivors had previously signed the piece, which seemingly added to its value, as it sold for more than its earlier estimated price.
Speaking about the purchase, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge claimed that it “reflects the ongoing interest and passion for the story of the Titanic, and its passengers and crew.”
He also once noted that it was “the only lifejacket from a survivor to emerge at auction in 114 years, so it is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors.”
Another Titanic Item Sold For Over $400,000
At the same auction, another piece of memorabilia was sold for just over half the price of the life jacket.
The item was a seat cushion from one of the lifeboats that rescued the 700 passengers who survived the shipwreck.
Before being put up for sale, the cushion was first owned by a friend of London tea importer Richard William Smith. Smith himself died on the ship during the tragic incident, and his body was never identified.
The cushion is now housed in the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, which purchased it at the time.
Watches, Menus, And Letters Have Also Sold
Several other Titanic items have made it to the auction table in recent years. A pocket watch belonging to postal clerk Oscar Scott Woody is one example, with the time frozen at the moment he drowned in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.
A first-class menu featuring “plover on toast” and a list of first-class passengers owned by a gambler have also been sold.
Other items include an ornate dessert plate, a section of a column from the à la carte restaurant, a fur coat owned by a first-class stewardess, and a letter from one of the passengers, Oscar Holverson.
All of these items sold for tens of thousands of dollars at the time to collectors.
