In the movie :Titanic," one of the most tear-jerking moments was when the head violinist calls off the band after realizing the passengers were too busy panicking to listen to them...only to resume playing until the waves finally spelled an end to the brave musicians of the Titanic.
Based on a true story about the most infamous maritime disaster in history that claimed thousands of lives, the violin that had been payed to calm the panicking passengers of the fast-sinking Titanic was sold at a whopping $1.7 million dollars, or 900,000 pounds. The buyer was said to have been British.
The Titanic violin once belonged to violinist Wallace Hartey, who led hid band to play for the frantic passengers. He died, along with his band of musicians, among the 1, 517 deaths onboard the Titanic in 1914.
Alan Aldridge, the auctioneer, said that the Titanic violin was the most iconic of all Titanic memorabilias.
Aldridge said that the bidding had been quite fierceL the bidding had been set at 50 pounds, but quickly grew to 100,000 pounds in the next couple of minutes.
The Titanic violin was finally sold at 900,000 pounds after a fierce bid battle between two telephone bidders.
The Titanic violin has become part of the Titanic legend, along with its former owner William Hartley, who has been famously remembered leading his fellow musicians in playing the hymn "Nearer My God To Thee," before the Titanic finally sank.
It had reportedly taken seven years to authenticate the artifact. Several disbelieve that the violin could have ever survived in the icy waters, but examiners beieveits survival was largely attributed to having been protected by a leather case strapped to Hartley's body, who had been found wearing his lifejacket. The violin was then sent to his fiance Maria Robinson, and passed through several hands following her death in 1939.
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