Ear: Iceberg

Up for auction at Henry Aldridge & Sons Ltd. in England on April 27 is an “extremely rare” photograph believed to be of the iceberg the Titanic struck, taken from the Mackay-Bennett, which arrived on the scene of the disaster on April 20, 1912, after the Titanic sank in the early morning of April 15, 1912. The photo is expected to go for (spelling error and all) between $5,000 and $8,800.

But wait. Rare Historical Photos notes that several such photos exist. One was taken the morning of April 15 from the ship Prinz Adalbert, just south of the sinking. A smear of what the photographer thought was red paint on the iceberg caught his eye.

A photo taken on April 20 from the German steamer Bremen, was taken near where the ship went down, and also closely matched Titanic survivors’ descriptions.

Capt. De Carteret, of the ship Minia, also took an iceberg photo in the vicinity of debris and bodies, and he was certain there was no other iceberg in the area. It also had a red streak along the base.

Yet another photo was taken from the ship Birma of the same iceberg as seen by the passengers of the rescue ship Carpathia, the first to arrive at the scene of the sinking. This iceberg also matched the description provided by Titanic survivors.

Are any of them the real deal? No one knows for sure. (Photo: Henry Aldridge & Sons Ltd.).