The violin Wallace Hartley, bandmaster of the RMS Titanic, played as the ship sank in 1912 will be on exclusive through Aug. 1-15 at the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo.
Following the display, the violin will be moved to England to be auctioned in October.
The expedition co-leader of the first private exploration dive to the Titanic and owner of The Titanic Museum Attractions, the long-lost violin has been authenticated as the instrument played by Hartley as he led the Titanic’s orchestra in “Nearer, My God, to Thee” until their last moments before going under, acccording to John Joslyn. As the Titanic legend has it, Hartley continued to play because he believed in music’s ability to calm people and to maintain order.
As of August first, The Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson is the only place in the U.S. that the historic violin can be seen before being shipped to England for auction by Henry Aldridge and Son, who anticipate the instrument to be sold for millions of dollars. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all Titanicfans to become a witness to history,” Joslyn said.
“I’ve explored Titanic, documented my discoveries for television and even built two giant museum attractions in tribute to this iconic ship, but when I came face-to-face with the actual violin Hartley had played that cold April night, the whole Titanic experience came into focus, bringing an emotional and melancholy close to a catastrophic chapter in the Titanic story. I feel certain our guests will feel the same,” Joslyn said.
The violin belonging to Hartley has been confirmed as authentic through a CT scan performed at The Ridgeway Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, “beyond a reasonable doubt” more than 100 years after the tragic shipwreck.
