Letter dated day before Titanic sank sells for $166,000

The ill-fated White Star liner RMS Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic.   (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Credit: Central Press

Credit: Central Press

The ill-fated White Star liner RMS Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

The letter is addressed to “Mother.”

“We had good weather while we were in Loudon (sic). It is quite green and nice in England now. This boat is a giant in size and fitted up like a palacial (sic) hotel.”

It is one of the last remaining letters to survive the doomed ship Titanic, and it recently sold at auction for a 120,000 pounds ($166,000) -- a record-price for a correspondence from the liner.

The missive, penned by first-class passenger Alexander Oskar Holverson on the liner’s embossed stationery, is dated April 13, 1912 -- the day before the Titanic sank.

Auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son predicted the item would go for 60,000 to 80,000 pounds ($79,000 to $106,000), according to CNN. The identity of the buyer wasn't disclosed. Iron keys from the ship also sold for 76,000 pounds ($100,000).

"The prices illustrate the continuing interest in the Titanic and her passengers and crew," auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told Reuters. "I'm delighted with the new world record for the Titanic letter. It reflects its status as the most important Titanic letter we have ever auctioned."

The letter was sold by the Holverson family.

Alexander Oskar Holverson was a salesman who was traveling on the ocean liner’s maiden voyage with his wife, Mary Alice, who survived the sinking. The letter was found on his body a few days after the ship sank April 14, 1912. More than 1,500 people died.

The letter ends with this line:

“It all goes well we will arrive in New York Wednesday A.M.”