Titanic Auction at Devizes

We spent most of today in Devizes attending Aldrich's auction of Titanic and maritime memorabilia. Before going to the auction rooms, we stopped off in the market square for pasties and had a look at the famous indoor market where Sara bought a rather nice glass pendant. We arrived at the Auction Rooms at around 12.45 pm and with the auction starting at 1 p.m. didn't have too much time to look at the exhibits. Our friend Robert was already there and we joined him. His wife Amanda would come along later. The bidding started slowly with quite a number of paintings and prints going for as little as £20. Tom wanted a coal model of Titanic which I managed to get for £15. I also successfully bid for a bottle of single malt whisky from the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 for £45. I had bought one of these off the ship many years ago as a present for someone and so it was rewarding to have another one. Robert did succeed in any of his bids. A set of keys for the binocular box of Titanic went for £47,000 and and a photograph of Rosa Abbott for £31,000 - a record price for a photograph. After the auction we went for a pub meal by the Kennet and Avon Canal with Robert and Amanda and had fish and chips (I had scampi). It was a pleasant couple of hours with good friends. We are hoping to get together a group of the old Titanic Convention crowd for a weekend in late August - probably in Southampton.