The story of the Titanic continue to fascinate the public, with the 1997 blockbuster movie helping to drive interest.
A number of pieces of Titanic memorabilia including crockery, newspapers, and photographs were recently put up for auction at Henry Aldridge & Son auction house in Wiltshire, with most pieces fetching a few hundred pounds or less. However, a violin with lot number 230 sparked a lot more interest.
The violin was given to Wallace Hartley by his fiancée Maria as an engagement present. Hartley continued to play the violin to keep passengers calm as the ship went down, eventually killing him and 1,516 others, and has come to represent courage and an British sense of defiance in the face of danger insurmountable risk and danger.
It took the auctioneers seven years to authenticate the violin with it claimed that the violin survived in a leather case strapped to the body of Wallace Hartley who was found floating still wearing his cork and linen life-jacket. However, a number of people still question the veracity of these claims.
The violin had a starting price of £50, but soon rose to £900,000 after a bidding war between two telephone bidders.
The winning bidder was anonymous, but is believed to be a British collector.
