A postcard written by the Titanic’s senior radio operator was put up for auction for $ 15,000 (about $ 84,000 in direct conversion). The message was written in March 1912, just weeks before the ship sank in April.
John George Phillips, who was known as Jack Phillips, wrote the letter while in the port of Belfast (Northern Ireland) and addressed it to his sister, named Elsie. He told how the preparations for the trip were and the expectation for the departure.
“I am very busy working late. I hope to leave on Monday and arrive in So’ton (short for the city of Southampton) on Wednesday night. Hope you’re well. I heard from Ethel yesterday. Love, Jack, ”he wrote by hand.
The auction is being conducted by RR Auction, which is headquartered in Boston, United States. The company’s executive vice president, Bobby Livingston, explained that Phillip used to send postcards that showed the ship he served on.
“According to our research, only 5 of the 300 postcards that Elsie received were related to the Titanic and only 2 presented the ship with a frontal photograph, which makes this an exceptionally rare example,” said the representative in a statement.
True hero
Jack, who died in the tragic wreck at the age of 25, is recognized as a true hero. He is not the eponymous character that appears in the film, played by Leonardo Di Caprio.
RR Auction made a rescue of its history and recalled that the radio operator sent messages to other ships to get help while the Titanic sank.
On the letter’s auction page, the company says that despite his youth, he was an experienced telegraph operator, having learned his trade while working for the Post Office in 1906. In addition to the famous vessel, Jack also served on several Marconi Company ships
“After abandoning the ship when water flooded his feet, he ended up in a folding life raft, where he later died of exposure to the severe cold. Harold Bride (junior operator of Titanic) has always remembered Phillips as ‘the man who saved us all’, ”says an excerpt on the auction’s official website.
