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Titanic life jacket sells for £670,000 at auction
A life jacket worn by Titanic survivor Laura Mabel Francatelli sold at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire for £670,000, the highest price for a survivor's life jacket at auction in 114 years. A lifeboat seat cushion from the Titanic also sold at the same auction for £390,000.
Why It Matters
The sale underscores enduring public interest in the Titanic and its passengers, with surviving artifacts commanding significant sums at auction.
Timeline
3 Events
Lifeboat seat cushion sells for £390,000
April 18, 2026
A lifeboat seat cushion from the Titanic was sold at the same auction for £390,000. The buyer was the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri, with plans to exhibit the item.
Life jacket worn by Titanic survivor sells for £670,000
April 18, 2026
A life jacket worn by Titanic survivor Laura Mabel Francatelli, used before entering a lifeboat, was sold at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire for £670,000. It was the only life jacket from a survivor to emerge at auction in 114 years and featured signatures from Francatelli and fellow survivors, with 12 pockets, shoulder rests and side straps. It far exceeded the estimated range of £250,000 to £350,000.
Southampton memorial marks 114th anniversary of Titanic tragedy
April 14, 2026
Southampton held a memorial on April 14, 2026 to mark the 114th anniversary of the RMS Titanic tragedy.