TITANIC SURVIVOR’S LIFE JACKET TO BE AUCTIONED IN RARE SALE MORE THAN 114 YEARS AFTER SINKING. (PHOTO).

Titanic survivor’s life jacket to be auctioned in rare sale more than 114 years after sinking

A life jacket worn by a survivor of the Titanic disaster is set to go under the hammer Saturday in a rare auction more than 114 years after the liner sank in one of history’s deadliest maritime tragedies.

The U.K.-based auction house Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd. estimates the historic artifact could fetch between 250,000 pounds ($339,000) and 350,000 pounds ($474,000), describing it as one of the most significant Titanic-related items to come to market in years.

The life jacket belonged to Laura Mabel Francatelli, a first-class passenger who was traveling aboard the RMS Titanic alongside her employer, fashion designer Lucy Duff Gordon, and Gordon’s husband, Cosmo Duff Gordon. Francatelli worked as a secretary to the designer, whose couture work was well known in London, Paris, and New York.

The trio was en route to Chicago when the Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank in the early hours of April 15. More than 1,500 of the roughly 2,240 passengers and crew died during the disaster.

According to the auction listing, Francatelli survived the sinking after transferring lifeboats during the chaotic evacuation with the Duff Gordons. She later signed the life jacket, along with other survivors.

Andrew Aldridge, managing director of the auction house, said the piece stands out even among the firm’s extensive history of Titanic memorabilia.

“It’s a truly incredible object,” he said, adding that it is “really, really rare” and evokes strong emotion when viewed.

He said each artifact tied to the ship helps preserve personal stories from the tragedy. “There are 2,200 chapters in this story, each one a person,” he said, describing how memorabilia helps bring those individual experiences to life more than a century later.

The life jacket has previously been displayed at museums in Tennessee and Northern Ireland. The previous owner has since decided to release it back into the collector market.