Rare Titanic survivor Marshall Brines Drew signed two page handwritten 1985 Letter with Titanic content. James, his ...

Rare Titanic survivor Marshall Brines Drew signed two page handwritten 1985 Letter with Titanic content. James, his wife and Marshall travelled on the Olympic in the autumn of 1911 for a holiday to visit his relatives in Constantine, Cornwall. Their return journey to America was on board the Titanic which they boarded at Southampton as second class passengers (ticket number 28220 which cost £32, 10s). It is possible that they travelled with James Veal who was also a native of Constantine. On embarking James and Marshall were able to view the first-class areas including the gymnasium and the barber's shop. On the night of the sinking James had been up on deck whilst his wife and nephew were settled in their cabin. Following the impact with the iceberg, James returned to the cabin, instructing them to dress and put on their lifebelts. He escorted Lulu and Marshall to a lifeboat, bid them goodbye and stepped back into the crowd. Marshall recalled a perilous drop to the ocean in his lifeboat, with the pulleys jamming, causing the lifeboat to drop suddenly at one end on a few occasions. He also described the Titanic listing right out of the ocean, with the sounds of heavy machinery crashing towards her bows, the sight of people falling from her decks and the sounds of those people struggling in the freezing water. He fell asleep in his lifeboat to awaken to the sight of dozens of icebergs for miles around and soon saw the Carpathia steaming-in to their rescue. He also recollected his excitement at scaling the side of their rescue vessel, a feat many others seemed to fear. Upon his arrival in New York he was met by his father who was prostrated with anxiety at the thought of the loss of his son. Marshall returned to Southold, New York with his aunt Lulu and his father. He would lose his father to tuberculosis in 1917 and Aunt Lulu remarried, becoming Mrs Richard Opie. He was still living with his aunt in Southold by the time of the 1920 census but soon went to live with Lulu's parents, the Christians. Gifted with an artistic flair, Marshall became a graduate of Pratt Institute in New York in 1928 and attended Columbia University, later becoming a teacher, specialising in art, and teaching in Brooklyn public schools until his retirement. He was married to a Connecticut-born woman named Mary (b. 1912) and they had a daughter, Bette Elizabeth (later Wible), on 27 March 1937. The family are shown on the 1940 census living in Queens, New York and Marshall is described as a teacher. Following retirement, he continued to teach art and host art events and was a talented photographer of natural life and an expert in origami. Good condition. All autographs are genuine hand signed and come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £10.