Titanic violin sells for nearly £1million at auction

THE VIOLIN which was said to have been played on the Titanic as the ship sank has been sold today for a whopping £900,000.

 Titanic band leader Wallace Hartley's Violin, who many say played as the ship sank has sold[PA]

The previous record for a single piece of memorabilia from the Titanic had stood at £220,000.

Wallace Hartley has become part of the ship's legend after leading his fellow musicians in playing as the doomed vessel went down, most famously the hymn Nearer My God To Thee.

Hartley and his seven fellow band members all died in the tragedy in 1912, in which 1,500 people were killed after the ship hit an iceberg.

His violin, which had been a gift from his fiancee Maria Robinson, was apparently found in a case strapped to his body when it was recovered from the icy Atlantic waters.

Its re-emergence in 2006, when it was reportedly discovered in an attic in Yorkshire, prompted heated debate over its authenticity.

 An engraving from Wallace Hertley's fiance, Maria Robinson [PA]

Titanic specialist auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son insist nearly seven subsequent years of research and tests have proved it to be the genuine article.

Now the violin - accompanied by a leather luggage case initialled W. H.H. - went under the hammer with a host of other items from the ship at the public auction in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The violin had a reserve price of between £200,000 and £300,000 and was expected to reach as much as £400,000 - however no one expected the instrument to fetch nearly £1 million.

Its re-emergence in 2006, when it was reportedly discovered in an attic in Yorkshire, prompted heated debate over its authenticity.

Titanic specialist auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son insist nearly seven subsequent years of research and tests have proved it to be the genuine article.

Now the violin - accompanied by a leather luggage case initialled W. H.H. - went under the hammer with a host of other items from the ship at the public auction in Devizes, Wiltshire.

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