The ill-fated RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage in 1912 A cigar box once owned by the captain of the Titanic has been discovered gathering dust on a bedroom cabinet.
It was spotted by auctioneer John Crane when he was invited to value a number of antiques at a house in Merseyside.
Pensioner Hilary Mee said she had no idea the item was connected to the ill-fated vessel even though it had been lying around her home for 20 years.
The walnut humidor is expected to fetch between £10,000 and £20,000 at auction in Liverpool on Thursday.
The box carries the distinctive emblem of the White Star Line shipping company and bears the initials of the master of the passenger liner, Edward John Smith.
At first Mr Crane could not work out what the initials stood for but he said a tingle went down his spine when he realised it belonged to the ship’s captain.
The box is lined with camper wood and was designed to hold 40 of the finest Havana cigars.
The RMS Titanic was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast and sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912.
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