Photo depicting 'iceberg that sank the Titanic' up for auction
16th June 2020
More than a century after the Titanic’s horrific maiden voyage that claimed more than 1,500 lives, a black and white picture of the iceberg that sank the British passenger liner is up for auction.
The seaman, a Captain W. Wood, who served on board the SS Etonian, was a photo buff and captured the huge iceberg on his camera.
Crucially, he made a geographical note of the coordinates, which were almost the same for when the Titanic struck an iceberg 40 hours later and sank with the loss of 1,522 lives.
Once he reached New York, Wood had the picture developed and sent a print to his great-grandfather, along with a letter, in which he wrote: “I am sending you a sea picture, the Etonian running before a gale and the iceberg that sank the Titanic.
“We crossed the ice tracks 40 hours before her and in daylight, so saw the ice easily and I got a picture.”
Over the past century, a series of pictures of icebergs in the Titanic’s vicinity taken before and after the collision have come to light.
However, Wood’s photograph of the unusually shaped iceberg seems to closely match sketches and eyewitness descriptions of the one that the Titanic struck.
Now it is up for auction at Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes, Wilts along with a letter Wood wrote for an estimated $15,000.
