Titanic archive including rare first-class passenger list expected to sell for more than $100,000 at auction

A coveted archive belonging to a Titanic victim, comprised of rare items tied to the ill-fated voyage like a first-class passenger list, is expected to sell for upwards of $100,000 at an auction next month.

Frederick Sutton, a 61-year-old first-class passenger from New Jersey, was buried at sea after the Titanic sank on April 14, 1912.

While his body was never recovered, several of his belongings were salvaged from the wreckage and bequeathed to his surviving family, who held onto them for more than a century.

Now, his full collection is being sold at an auction in Devizes, Wiltshire on Nov. 22.

The items include the only known surviving first-class passenger list as well as a chilling note from the White Star Line notifying Sutton’s relatives that they would have to purchase a first-class ticket for the safe transport of his corpse.

Sutton’s family was incorrectly informed that his body was recovered and brought to Nova Scotia aboard the MacKay Bennett, according to the Henry Aldridge & Son auction house.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge marveled at the archive as “one of the most complete collections of its type” that the auction house has ever seen.

 “To discover a first-class passenger list that was not only onboard the Titanic but went into the water and actually survived is truly remarkable,” Aldridge told the BBC.

“The second element of the collection that takes it to another level is the inclusion of the ‘Important Note’ from the White Star Line,” he added.

A surviving first-class passenger who sat next to Sutton during dinner the weekend before the Titanic sank reported that the older man hadn’t been feeling well for those few days, according to the auction house listing.

Sutton, a married father of three, originally traveled to England in March 1912 for unspecified health reasons and was returning home on the Titanic.

Some have speculated that Sutton became trapped in his room and drowned in there. Others assume he could’ve frozen to death or drowned after prolonged hours treading water, if he ever made it overboard.

The auction will also feature a small collection of Sutton’s “personal effects” that were recovered from the wreckage, including a gold seal ring bearing his initials and a silver whistle.

A second batch of Sutton’s items will be up for sale in April 2026, just in time for the 114th anniversary of the Titanic sinking.

In April, a letter written by one of the surviving passengers sold for a whopping $399,000.

In November 2024, a postcard sent by a British tea broker who died in the wreckage sold for $25,000.