Keys from doomed Titanic to be sold at auction

Lawrence of Arabia’s headscarf, a Stetson owned by Sir Winston Churchill and a set of keys from the Titanic are among the eclectic items on sale at Christie’s Out of the Ordinary auction.

Around 100 curios that have been amassed over 40 years by Jersey-based collector David Gainsborough Roberts will go up for auction on September 14 for the 250th anniversary of the annual sale which celebrates unique and unusual lots.

Estimates start at £300 and go up to £15,000 for a 14-carat gold, diamond and enamel world heavyweight title belt owned by American boxer William Harrison ‘Jack’ Dempsey. Hoping to bring in the same amount is a purple silk and copper agal, or head circlet, owned by author and military officer TE Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, and his red silk and gold thread headscarf at £3,000-5,000.

Personal possessions of Queen Victoria and Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott are also among the pieces of history that the public will be able to view from August 6 at the auction house’s summer exhibition before the sale.

Owner Gainsborough Roberts said: “After collecting for over 40 years the time has finally arrived to share my collection with the world.

“I hope my insatiable appetite for the curious, the famous and the infamous will inspire a new generation of custodians.”

The summer exhibition of Christie’s Out of the Ordinary - the 250th Anniversary Edition begins on August 6 and the sale takes place on September 14.

- The Telegraph

Clockwise, from top left:

Michael Jackson’s Thriller jacket: £940,000

A collector from Texas was so desperate to own the iconic jacket he just kept on bidding. After auction fees the total price came to £1.13 million

Marilyn Monroe’s X-rays: £30,000

A young doctor obtained Monroe’s X-rays after she was hospitalised in 1954. He used to show them to medical students before they were auctioned in 2010

John Lennon’s tooth: £20,000

The Beatle’s discoloured, decayed molar went up for auction in 2011. Lennon gave it to his housekeeper when she worked at his Surrey home

Elvis Presley’s Bible: £59,000

The good book used by Presley from 1957 until his death was snapped up by a collector in 2012. A pair of the singer’s soiled underpants, however, went unsold

Napoleon Bonaparte’s hat: £1.5 million

In 2014 a South Korean collector snapped up the iconic two-pointed hat worn by Napoleon 200 years ago

Princess Diana’s ‘Travolta’ dress: £240,000

A gown the princess famously wore while dancing with John Travolta was bought by a British bidder in 2013. The gentleman reportedly bought it to ‘cheer up his wife’