Violin played aboard ‘Titanic’ confirmed as real
May 24, 2013, 12:00 PM | Updated: 9:14 pm
That’s one tough violin.
According to the Huffington Post, a violin thought to belong to Titanic bandmaster Wallace Hartley, who went down with the ship, was confirmed to be real on Thursday following a CT scan.
The CT scan’s findings revealed deterioration consistent with that which an authentic violin from the Titanic would have experienced, Aldridge explained. “The violin was in a heavy-duty leather Gladstone-type bag, so the violin would have come into contact with water, but it would have been protected by the leather,” he said. “The instrument is also held together with animal glue, which melts when it is hot, not when it is cold.”
The violin was also found with several other hints to its age, including a silver tag that was a popular style around 1910.
The violin was returned to Hartley’s fiance after his death aboard Titanic. The instrument was then passed to the current owner’s mother.
The current owner is considering sending the instrument to auction.
