Chalkie
Member
On 17th October 2009, Henry Aldridge and Son, held an auction of Titanic and White Star Line memorabilia at their Devizes Rooms. In excess of 270 lots went under the hammer with prices ranging from £50 to £60,000. One of the most outstanding items on offer was a remarkable collection of material belonging to Malcolm Johansson, a third-class passenger onboard Titanic. Malcolm Johansson "Sever" was 33-years old when the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic claimed the great leviathan. Although he was born in Sweden, he lived and worked in Minneapolis, USA and owned a successful construction business there. In early 1912, he decided to return home to Sweden where he planned to purchase the farm he grew up on as a boy in Bjorkaryd. However, his attempt to purchase the property was an unsuccessful one and so he decided to return to the USA. It is believed that Malcolm travelled from Sweden to England onboard SS Calypso before booking his passage on Titanic for £7, 15 shillings, boarded her at Southampton on 10th April 1912. Like so many others at the time he was due to travel to the USA onboard the White Star Line’s RMS Adriatic but as a result of the 1912 coal strike in Britain, and a very cruel twist of fate, he was transferred to the Titanic as the Adriatic was unable to make the voyage, her coal stocks having been transferred to the Titanic. Malcolm travelled along with fellow Swedes, Gustaf Joel Johansson and Oscar Hedman. Malcolm died in the sinking of the famous ocean liner and his body, No.37, was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett.
When his body was recovered he was still wearing his boots but his socks were missing according to the official list of effects. All of his belongings were sent back to his family in Sweden, where they remained for 97 years. Malcolm was buried in Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 10th May 1912. His archive at the auction comprised an Omega pocket watch with the hands frozen in time at 1.37 (Titanic struck the iceberg at 1.40pm and sank at 2.20am) by immersion in the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of 15th April 1912. The time difference at that time was 47 minutes and therefore, when this is taken into account the watch reads 2.24, just four minutes after Titanic began her final journey to the bottom of the Ocean. Malcolm purchased the watch in Sweden on 9th June 1910, a Lepine Omega of Grade A quality and is the only documented example of an Omega watch to have survived the disaster. In addition to the pocket watch there was also a rare Manifest Ticket for Titanic stamped “10th April 1912.” This particular ticket was initially to be used by Malcolm for his journey to the USA onboard the Adriatic. The ticket was stamped in ink (No. 7) and had suffered from water damage. This ticket would have been very important to Malcolm as he would have needed to present it to the US Immigration Authorities at Ellis Island after Titanic docked in New York. A unique studio portrait of Malcolm was also placed under the hammer.
Finally, a very rare Titanic luggage ticket stamped “2951,” and printed on green card stock was also offered at the auction. Malcolm would have been given this ticket when he boarded the ship and would have needed it to reclaim his luggage when he disembarked in New York. Malcolm’s archive sold for £155,000, the luggage ticket leading the way at £59,000 closely followed by his pocket watch at £58,000.
Did You Know That?
After he lost his life in the Titanic disaster, Malcolm’s brother and family stated he had over $1,000 in dollar bills sewn into his socks prior to leaving the USA, presumably the funds he never used to purchase his farm. His brother, Wilhelm Nilsson, wrote to the authorities in New York several times to find out what had happened to the money that was allegedly sewn into his socks but his enquiries came to nothing.
When his body was recovered he was still wearing his boots but his socks were missing according to the official list of effects. All of his belongings were sent back to his family in Sweden, where they remained for 97 years. Malcolm was buried in Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 10th May 1912. His archive at the auction comprised an Omega pocket watch with the hands frozen in time at 1.37 (Titanic struck the iceberg at 1.40pm and sank at 2.20am) by immersion in the icy cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of 15th April 1912. The time difference at that time was 47 minutes and therefore, when this is taken into account the watch reads 2.24, just four minutes after Titanic began her final journey to the bottom of the Ocean. Malcolm purchased the watch in Sweden on 9th June 1910, a Lepine Omega of Grade A quality and is the only documented example of an Omega watch to have survived the disaster. In addition to the pocket watch there was also a rare Manifest Ticket for Titanic stamped “10th April 1912.” This particular ticket was initially to be used by Malcolm for his journey to the USA onboard the Adriatic. The ticket was stamped in ink (No. 7) and had suffered from water damage. This ticket would have been very important to Malcolm as he would have needed to present it to the US Immigration Authorities at Ellis Island after Titanic docked in New York. A unique studio portrait of Malcolm was also placed under the hammer.
Finally, a very rare Titanic luggage ticket stamped “2951,” and printed on green card stock was also offered at the auction. Malcolm would have been given this ticket when he boarded the ship and would have needed it to reclaim his luggage when he disembarked in New York. Malcolm’s archive sold for £155,000, the luggage ticket leading the way at £59,000 closely followed by his pocket watch at £58,000.
Did You Know That?
After he lost his life in the Titanic disaster, Malcolm’s brother and family stated he had over $1,000 in dollar bills sewn into his socks prior to leaving the USA, presumably the funds he never used to purchase his farm. His brother, Wilhelm Nilsson, wrote to the authorities in New York several times to find out what had happened to the money that was allegedly sewn into his socks but his enquiries came to nothing.
