Titanic relics go up for auction

Some items will fetch tens of thousands of dollars

An auction of shipwreck memorabilia in New York will feature the largest ever sale of relics from the Titanic.

The lots include the purported lifejacket of one victim, a first-class dinner menu and a folding deckchair.

Guernsey's auction house says the menu - one of only three recovered from the "last meal" on the doomed liner - could go for $80-100,000 (£40-55,000).

Guernsey's director Susan Jaffe admitted that the auction had a slightly macabre feel.

"It was a tragedy, no one can dispute that, but it's precisely the personal stories attached to these artefacts that exert such a fascination for thousands of people," she said.

Only three 'last meal' menus have been recovered

The Titanic sank on 14 April 1912, after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. More than 1,500 people lost their lives, while more than 700 passengers and crew were rescued.

Most of the lots have been submitted by three collectors.

They are expected to raise millions of dollars.

There are also items from other shipwrecked vessels up for sale, but the Titanic artefacts are expected to attract the highest prices.

A linen and cork lifejacket said to have come from the body of a victim has been given an estimate of $30-40,000 dollars.

A deckchair could fetch $60,000, while a letter on Titanic stationery has an estimate of $50,000.

From first-class passenger George Graham, it describes how the Titanic almost collided with another liner - the New York - as it embarked on its voyage from Southampton.