Extraordinary item from Titanic set to go under auction; may fetch a whopping ...

An extraordinary archive belonging to the victim of Titanic, including the only known surviving first-class passenger list, is set to go under the hammer next month, the New York Post has reported. Estimates suggest the rare list, which is intact, could fetch more than $100,000.

The collection once belonged to Frederick Sutton, a 61-year-old businessman from New Jersey who perished when the RMS Titanic sank on April 14, 1912.

Sutton, who had been returning home after a trip to England, was traveling in first class.

Although his body was never recovered, several of his possessions were salvaged from the wreckage and preserved by his descendants for over a century.

The archive will be auctioned on November 22 in Devizes, Wiltshire, by Henry Aldridge & Son — a firm known for handling major Titanic memorabilia sales, the report said. The lot features rare documents and personal effects, including the only surviving first-class passenger list and a haunting note from the White Star Line to Sutton’s family, informing them that they would need to buy a first-class ticket for the return of his body.

According to the auction house, Sutton’s relatives were mistakenly told that his body had been recovered and brought to Nova Scotia aboard the MacKay Bennett, one of the ships tasked with retrieving victims.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described the find as “one of the most complete collections of its type” ever handled by the company.

“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.

The collection also contains a small canvas bag labeled with Sutton’s name and a number of personal effects recovered from the wreck site, including a gold seal ring engraved with his initials and a silver whistle.

A second batch of Sutton’s belongings is expected to be auctioned in April 2026, coinciding with the 114th anniversary of the tragedy.

Sutton, a married father of three, had traveled to England in March 1912 for unspecified health reasons. A fellow first-class passenger who dined with him shortly before the disaster reportedly noted that Sutton “hadn’t been feeling well” in the days leading up to the sinking, according to the auction house’s listing.

While the circumstances of his death remain uncertain, theories suggest he may have become trapped in his cabin, drowned in the icy Atlantic, or succumbed to hypothermia while awaiting rescue.