A violin that was recovered from the Titanic sold at auction for more than $1.7 million, which wildly exceeded expectations.
The auction was held at Henry Aldridge and Son, a British auction house that focuses on Titanic-related items, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The violin was owned by Wallace Hartley who died on the Titanic on April 14, 1912 and was believed to be a part of the band that supposedly continued to play as the ship sank. Henry Aldridge and Son said they researched and tested the violin to ensure it was the real deal.
Other items up for auction were the prop violin from the James Cameron movie Titanic, Hartley's bag, sheet music and the Titanic's insurance form.
The violin has a crack, is water stained and has only two strings left was found in 2006 in an attic, The Telegraph notes. Experts have doubted that a violin could have survived being in sea water, but others disagree.
Henry Aldridge and Son say they spent seven years having historians, forensic experts and others to help determine that violin is "beyond reasonable doubt" the real thing.
The violin was supposedly kept in a bag that Hartley strapped to himself where it was eventually brought to Maria Robinson, his fiance. From there the violin was donated to The Salvation Army before being given to a violin teacher. The violin then was given to the seller's mother, in whose attic it was found.
image: Wikimedia Commons
