Two rare menus from the Titanic have sold at the head of an auction dedicated to the ill-fated ship's memorabilia, which took place in the UK on Saturday (November 24).
The first of the menus was for a first class lunch held on the Titanic's maiden voyage, and sold for �64,000 ($102,500). The second, which came from a VIP meal held in Belfast to mark the launch of the liner, achieved �36,000 ($57,631).
 This menu, from the day the ship sank, sold for �76,000 in April |
Dated April 10, 1912, the menu for the first class lunch - which featured hodge podge, lobster and ox tongue - was taken as a memento by passengers Richard and Stanley May. The fishmonger brothers travelled with first class tickets and used the Titanic to cross the Irish Sea, departing as the ship called at Queenstown in Ireland.
The price achieved was the highest ever seen for a menu of that date. In April, a first class menu from the last lunch ever eaten aboard the Titanic, on April 14, sold for �76,000 ($121,634), almost 100 years to the day since the Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland.
The second menu sold in the auction was for an exclusive VIP meal held on May 31, 1912, which was given as the ship launched in Belfast. The illustrious guests, who would have watched as the Titanic first took to the water, were presented with a luxury selection of fois gras, turtle soup and champagne at the city's Grand Hotel.
Very few menus from this meal survive as there were just 69 guests invited to the event, which was organised by shipbuilders Harland and Wolff. The example at auction also achieved a record price for a menu from the lunch.
Collectors will have the chance to bid on more Titanic memorabilia next month, when a photograph that is believed to show the iceberg that sunk the titanic comes up for sale in the US. Sign up to Paul Fraser Collectibles' free weekly newsletter for the latest news and investment advice from all areas of collecting.
