Titanic Passenger Stuart Butterworth ALS

Remarkable two-page handwritten letter written aboard RMS Titanic by passenger Stuart Jack Butterworth, dated Queenstown, April 12, 1912, just two days before the liner struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage. Addressed to his wife and opening "My darling Girl," the letter provides an extraordinary firsthand account of the near collision involving the SS New York during Titanic's departure from Southampton on April 10. Butterworth describes the force of the water displaced by the enormous liner as she passed between the Oceanic and New York, explaining that the smaller vessel broke free of her moorings and narrowly missed Titanic's stern. He writes that the incident could have resulted in a serious collision, before remarking on the comparatively happy circumstances aboard ship. The letter is particularly affecting in its domestic passages. Butterworth reassures his wife that he is happy, discusses their temporary separation and looks forward to returning home. Writing from Queenstown, Titanic's final port of call before crossing the Atlantic, he could not have known that the ship would founder in the early hours of April 15, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives. Accompanied by a period photographic postcard identified on the reverse as "Jack Butterworth." The letter exhibits toning, fold lines, minor edge wear and some fading to the pencil handwriting. Butterworth was a Titanic saloon steward who did not survive the sinking. His body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett and buried at sea on April 24, 1912. Christie's records that May Hinton received his letter in the same post as notification of his death Estimate $15,000 - $25,000

Estimate:£11.19

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