Titanic deckchair to be auctioned

LONDON, England -- A deckchair thrown overboard from the sinking Titanic is expected to fetch up to £35,000 ($50,460) when it goes under the auctioneer's hammer.

Only two deckchairs have survived since the "unsinkable" liner hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage in the Atlantic in 1912 and sank with the loss of 1,500 lives.

The deckchair is believed to be one of 50 thrown by the ship's baker, Charles Joughin, in an attempt to save passengers and crew leaping for their lives from the deck.

Joughin survived after spending up to three hours in the icy waters, but it is not clear whether he, or any of the others who had jumped overboard, used the deckchair to help keep them afloat.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told Reuters: "This is one of only two. The other is in the Maritime Museum in Nova Scotia."

He added: "The baker was slightly worse for the wear on brandy. He was throwing the deckchairs for people to use as buoyancy."

The deckchair will be part of an auction of Titanic memorabilia on September 15.

It was originally salvaged by captain Julien Louis LeMarteleur, who helped recover bodies from the liner which sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage to New York.

The deckchair, which has a tiny White Star line emblem carved in its headrest, is now owned by two Americans, Ian McCarthy and Ralph Cook from Nantucket, New England.

They had launched a worldwide investigation to confirm the origin of the deckchair.

The success of the blockbuster film "Titanic" has boosted demand for memorabilia and the auctioneer added: "Interest has already been considerable."