Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 313 - Numismatic Collector's Series - Ft. Worth, TX
Lot: 1498

Titanic: Ticker Tape Extremely rare Ticker Tape Roll, about .8" wide, 3.75" in diameter, undated, but April 15-16, 1912, announcing news of the RMS Titanic disaster. Reads in part "THE COLLISION TOOK PLACE AT 11.45 AND THE TITANIC WENT DOWN 2-1/2 HOURS LATER...FEW DESIRED TO GO INTO THE SMALL BOATS APPARENTLY BELIEVING IT TO BE A LOT OF EXCITEMENT FOR NOTHING" and continues with further details of the sinking. Toned, with at least one clean break, as is to be expected for an item intended to be ephemeral, VG. Well before the advent of entertainment broadcasts, radio technology was used for wireless telegraphy, especially aboard ships that had no other means of communication beyond the line of sight. As a state-of-the-art liner, the Titanic had a powerful wireless telegraph aboard, whose operators transmitted the news of her sinking to other ships. The news was then relayed back to the United States and around the world. Most people got the news of the sinking through the next morning´s newspaper, but there were some people who got their news delivered to their offices and homes through news broadcasts sent over a ticker tape machine network. Fortunately, one individual recognized the importance of the disaster, and saved a reel of tape from that historic day.

Sold for
$2,600