A letter written by the bandmaster of the Titanic has sold at auction for a staggering £93,000.
Wallace Hartley is one of most iconic figures from the disaster after his band continued to play on until the ship's last moments.
The musician, who travelled as a second-class passenger on Titanic, wrote the letter to his parents as the ship set off from Southampton on April 10, 1912.
He wrote about how he was getting settled on the "fine ship", which had "plenty of money on her".
The violinist, 33, added: "We have a fine band and the boys seem very nice."
Four days after departing, the journey ended in tragedy as more than 1,500 people died when the ship hit an iceberg
Auction house Henry Aldridge and Son, in Wiltshire, said it was unaware of any other surviving letter written by Hartley on board the ship.
The letter went up for sale on Saturday with an estimate of around £50,000, but a bidding frenzy saw the hammer go down at £93,000.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "This letter mentions the band and alludes to the wealth on board the ship – implying that some of it would make its way to the band in the form of gratuities."
Mr Hartley did not survive the sinking and his body was recovered by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett and assigned body No. 224.
His body was returned to his home town of Colne, Lancashire, where he received a very large funeral.
It has been argued the band members' calming influence helped save many lives during the chaotic final moments as the iconic ship went down.
The letter in full:
"Just a line to say we have got away all right. It's been a bit of a rush but I am just getting a little settled. This is a fine ship & there ought to be plenty of money on her. I've missed coming home very much & it would have been nice to have seen you all if only for an hour or two, but I couldn't manage it. We have a fine band & the boys seem very nice. I have had to buy some linen & I sent my washing home today by post. I shall probably arrive home on the Sunday morning. We are due here on the Saturday. I'm glad mother's foot is better."
