A menu from the last dinner served to first-class passengers aboard the doomed Titanic before the luxury ocean liner sank in 1912 has fetched nearly $US120,000 (nearly $NZ184,000) at auction.
A computer generated image of the main dining room aboard the Titanic ship at the Titanic Belfast visitor centre. Photo: AFP
The Titanic menu was among a rare collection of items from the sunken ship that were up for bid at the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions sale of political and Americana memorabilia.
Five businessmen wrote their addresses on the menu while sharing a dinner table the night before the ship sank. Four of the five survived the disaster.
A pair of licence plates from the limousine that carried President John F Kennedy through downtown Dallas when he was assassinated on 22 November 1963 also sold, for $US100,000 ($NZ153,266).
The plates had been discarded when the limousine was sent for upgrades after the president was shot dead in Dallas, Texas in November 1963.
The company's owner retrieved them and passed them on to his daughter.
A photo dated 22 November 1963 of US President John F. Kennedy's motorcade just before his assassination in Dallas. Photo: AFP
The plates, bearing number GG-300, had been expected to raise close to $US40,000 ($NZ61,297) at the auction in Dallas.
"I was aware of their significance," said Jane Walker, who inherited the plates and kept them in a kitchen drawer.
"On occasion, I would take them out and show to friends."
The auction company said the plates were bought by a "high-end Kennedy collector" who wanted to remain anonymous.
- BBC / Reuters