Violin prop used in Titanic movie up for auction

A violin played by the bandleader of the Titanic as it sank in the Hollywood film is expected to fetch up to £60,000 at auction.

Described as a “true piece of movie history”, the violin was used to play the hymn Nearer My God To Thee as the ship went down in the 1997 blockbuster.

Bandleader Wallace Hartley and his fellow band members were all killed along with 1,500 others when the ocean liner hit an iceberg in 1912.

The violin will be auctioned by Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire at the end of the month.

The Oscar-winning film, directed by James Cameron, saw Kate Winslet play upper class socialite Rose opposite Leonardo DiCaprio’s third class passenger Jack Dawson on the doomed ship’s maiden voyage.

The bandmaster Mr Hartley, who famously played on in the face of impending doom, was played by violinist and actor Jonathan Evans-Jones.

The violin can be seen several times in the film but most famously during the scene where Nearer My God To Thee is played to try to calm passengers as the ship sank.

In 2013, Mr Evans-Jones sold the violin at auction and it has been in the possession of a private collector ever since.

The original violin played on the Titanic was sold at auction in 2013 for £900,000.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “Having sold the original violin that was played by Wallace Hartley when the Titanic sank, we are delighted to offer the violin that was played in James Cameron’s movie for auction, one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.

“This is a true piece of movie history that will appeal to both Titanic and movie memorabilia collectors – it’s a true cross-collectible.”

The violin, which comes with a signed certificate of authenticity, goes under the hammer on 26 April.