R.M.S. OLYMPIC: One of the most important lots from Olympic ...

Estimate

£3,000 - £5,000

R.M.S. OLYMPIC: One of the most important lots from Olympic that Henry Aldridge and Son have offered for auction in 25 years. The actual hard bound ledger titled Cash Book CBL used by her Purser Claude Lancaster during his career onboard Titanic's sister from Voyage 10 to Voyage 64, a period that could be termed as her Golden Age. Voyage Ten started on April 3rd 1912. Olympic sailed for New York on 3rd April under the command of Captain Herbert Haddock with more than two thousand passengers and nine hundred of them in First-Class. Although Titanic usurped Olympic to become the largest and grandest ship in service she was in actual fact a virtual twin sister. Olympic remained a very popular vessel and many passengers who might have waited for the Titanic chose instead to travel with her. Mr and Mrs George W Vanderbilt were on board, they had booked a cabin on board Titanic but had changed their minds at the last minute, leaving their luggage with their valet Fred Wheeler who had stayed in Southampton to follow with the luggage. Although the reasons for their cancellation are unknown there were rumours that they cancelled their Titanic passage after Mrs Vanderbilt's mother experienced a premonition of the disaster.
Olympic's trip eastbound, New York-Plymouth-Cherbourg-Southampton saw her receive the distress signal from Titanic at or about 1 a.m. (Titanic time 11:10 p.m., 14 April New York time). Although 560 miles to the south, Olympic offered assistance and actually stopped until advised that help was not needed.
The ledger gives a unique account of life on board with every facet of Lancaster's accounting documented from the mundane such as clothes pressing, dogs, chocolate sales and how many Turkish Bath Tickets were sold to the vital such as Marconi service and accounts, Voyage 11 actually lists the lunch the First-Class Passengers held to discuss the raising of funds for Titanic victims. 15ins x 10ins x 2ins.