Piece of canvas and cork from the Miottel Museum collection

The piece to the right is another section of a lifebelt which was until recently part of the collection of the Miottel Museum. The fragment is a canvas-covered cork section with a length of torn webbing stitched to the bottom which appears to be a small section of ribbon tie/“tape”. It is mounted in a glazed case with a period hand-written label glued over the cork section stating, “A piece of lifebelt from S.S. ‘Titanic’. Taken from one of the bodies recovered by Cable Ship "Mackay-Bennett" and landed at Halifax. N.S.”  The same is written in gold paint beneath the title A RELIC OF THE "TITANIC" 1912 and further inscribed “Presented by -- Lieut. G.C. Cleveland, of H.M.S. Niobe, Royal Canadian Navy, who afterwards lost his life in The Great Halifax Explosion”.  The fragment -- 5 in. (13 cm.) long; the case (restored) -- 13 x 5¾ in. (33 x 14.5 cm.)
After being exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in 2017 this piece was on display in Pigeon Forge until March 2022. On April 23, 2022, it was auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son Ltd. Lot 258 was estimated to go for £8,000-£12,000, but it was sold over the phone to an unknown buyer for £25,000.

 

Titanic lifebelt piece in the Miottell Museum Collection – Pigeon Forge / Branson Titanic Museum Attractions.