More than 1,500 people died in the sinking of the Titanic, the immense and luxurious ship that was believed to be “unsinkable”., but ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after crashing into an iceberg. Among the victims is the Latino Ramón Artagaveytia Gómez, who wrote a letter that was auctioned more than 110 years ago.
(In addition: The remains of Titan are recovered from the ocean: this is how part of the submarine remained after the tragedy).
The Titanic was traveling between Southampton, England, and New York, United States. Ramón, a Uruguayan, had been encouraged to be part of the inaugural tour that would cost him his life.
On April 11, 1912, he wrote a letter to his brother Adolfo, in which he was happy to be on board and even described the majesty of the ocean liner.
“Everything I say about him is little“said the 71-year-old agricultural businessman, a first-class passenger.
“The corridors are painted white and some rooms, like this one, are made of carved wood, I think oak, with green velvety satin sofas and chairs. Everything is new and rich“he added, amazed by the size and quality of the boat, the food and the attention received.
“As we approached yesterday on the steamer, it was as cool as the Río de la Plata, and when I looked up I had the effect of being at the foot of a five-story house. Upon entering there were about 50 waiters. One takes my bags, and by elevator (there are 3) we go up to my floor on deck B. The dining room is on deck D and there are others below“, he commented.
(Keep reading: ‘Titanic’ movie will be on Netflix; the platform is called “opportunistic”.)
The letter was dispatched in Queenstown, Ireland, at the last stop made by the Titanic for mail delivery.
Little did he imagine then that he, who four decades earlier had survived the fire and sinking of the ship América in the Río de la Plata, would drown in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
Others two Uruguayans were part of the tragic maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic from Southampton, England, to New York, as well as two Argentines, a Cuban and a Mexican, the only Latin Americans on board.
The millionaire for which they auctioned a passenger letter from the Titanic
The piece is part of an auction of some 800 lots of Creole silverware, military and historical documents that are being auctioned in person and online by the Zorrilla company in Montevideo, Uruguay.
(Do not stop reading: Submarine on the Titanic: the lives lost in the tragedy that mourns the world).
Made on White Star Line company letterhead and watermark, the letter contains two pages with a moisture stain and a note later written by its recipient that says: “Last letter my dear brother Ramón wrote. At 3 days of this, the Titanic was shipwrecked, perishing by drowning”.
The letter had a base price of $12,000 (more than 50 million Colombian pesos at current exchange rates).
As Sebastián Zorrilla, a member of the company, explained to Agencia EFE a few days ago, Until now it was in the hands of the family and passed through three generations.
“There is always someone in families who decides to freeze history in an auction and have this piece that they treasure for a while and that we treasure momentarily end up in the hands of a collector or a museum,” he explained.
Besides:
You can also read:
– The remains of Titan are recovered from the ocean: this is how part of the submarine remained after the tragedy.
– Horror: dogs murder their owner, an old man who was bedridden.
– This is how OceanGate works, the submarine company with trips to the Titanic.
– The heartfelt letter from a mother to the murderer of her son who is in complete freedom.
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*With information from EFE and AFP
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