As reported by Associated Press, a violin believed to have been played on the Titanic before the doomed vessel sank was auctioned for more than 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) Saturday, a fantastic figure which one collector said may never be beaten.
The sea-corroded instrument, now unplayable, is thought to have belonged to bandmaster Wallace Hartley, who was among the disaster’s more than 1,500 victims.
The story of Hartley’s band, which stoically continued playing on the ship’s deck until the disaster’s final hour, is a memorable part of James Cameron’s “Titanic,” when Hartley and his colleagues are seen playing “Nearer, My God, To Thee” as the passengers around them scream and drown in the icy water.
The incredible story, and its heart-rending portrayal in one of the world’s most popular films, likely played a role in pushing the instrument’s price to 900,000 pounds, or past 1 million pounds when the buyer’s premium and tax are taken into account.
