Titanic Covers that Missed the Boat

Over the decades a number of covers have been found that bear a "TITANIC" mark on them in 3 varieties. Sent from France, Denmark and Spain, all were mailed in March, 1912 with all sent to the M.A. Winters Company in Washington, DC, except one addressed to Seattle, WA.
This site shares information about them to assist in proving their authenticity.

The Covers ***** Articles ***** Auction Lots, Sales and Write Ups ***** Reference Material ***** Presentation ***** Links ***** UK Centennial Postmarks

The Covers

Here are the 23 covers known to date. The summary chart compares them and gives possible trans-Atlantic crossing routes.

(scroll over any cover to see its reverse if available; click [F] or [R] to enlarge either side)

Cover 01-George Behe [F] [R]	Cover 02-Fortunato [F] [R] bought from a dealer in 1986 for $10	Cover 03-Mystery Box [F] [R] offered last on Nov. 25, 2005, no details	Cover 04-Spink 2012 [F] [R] sold last on May 19, 2017 for $650
Cover 05-Sandafayre 2009 [F] offered last on July 5, 2022, $967	Cover 06-Jay Baum [F] [R]	Cover 07-Eric 1 [F] [R] bought from a dealer in 2010 for $800	Cover 08-Little Titanic Museum [F] offered last in 2000, no details
Cover 09-Sandafayre 2001 [F] [R] sold last online in 2020 for $6,836	Cover 10-Eric 2 [F] [R] bought in a 2007 auction for $500	Cover 11-Titanic Museum [F]	Cover 12-William Simon [F] [R] sold last on January 11, 2013 for $5,250
Cover 13-Early Amer. History [F] offered last on April 23, 2016, no details	Cover 14-Foster [F] [R] sold last on February 1, 2022 for $3,995	Cover 15-Morris [F]	Cover 16-SSTitanic.org [F] [R] sold online auction in 2015 for $102.50
Cover 17-Patkin 1 [F] [R]	Cover 18-Patkin 2 [F] [R] offered last on August 11, 2016, unsold	Cover 19-Patkin 3 [F] [R]	Cover 20-Kelleher [F] [R] sold last on July 15, 2020 for $2,000
Cover 21-Santa Cruz [F] [R]	Cover 22-Kupersmit [F] [R] sold last on July 28, 2023, $1,900.	Cover 23-Colorado [F] [R] first discovered March 2024

Summary Chart (click image, PDF)

Comparison of ship markings
found on covers by the White
Star Line's RMS Titanic and its
sister ship, RMS Olympic.
An exact font and size match!

Articles

1978 Machine Cancel
Society Forum
(Cover 15)

July 1998 Seaposter
Maritime Postmark Society
(Cover 12)

September 1998 Seaposter
Maritime Postmark Society
(Covers 2, 10, 12)

December 4, 2000
Stamp Collector
(Cover 9)

2008 Titanic Commutator
(Covers 2, 3, 5, 9,
11, 12, 13)

June/Sept. 2008
La Catastrophe
(Covers 2, 3, 5, 6,
8, 9, 11, 12, 13)

September 2008
Stamp Insider
(Cover 2, et. al.)

November 17, 2008
Jennings-Bramly Response
(Cover 2, et. al.)

March 2009
Stamp Insider
(Cover 2, et. al.)

June 2010- Journal
France & Colonies
Philatelic Society
(Cover 2, et. al.)

September 2010- Journal
France & Colonies
Philatelic Society
(Cover 2, et. al.)

September 2010
Stamp Insider
(Cover 1, 2, et. al.)

February 2011
Timbres Magazine
(Cover 2, et. al.)
in French

March 2012- La Catastrophe
(13 covers mentioned)

March 2012- Santa Catarina
Filatalica
(13 covers mentioned)
in Portuguese

April 20, 2012- Spink
Auction Research
RMS Titanic
by Stephen Goldsmith

January 12, 2013- Advisor.ca
Stamps Deliver Top
Investment Returns
by Vikram Barhat

February, 2013- BC Philatelic
Society Newsletter
Vol. 63 No. 2

August 2017 Titanic Commutator
Titanic & Winter Building
Covers- Possible Explanations
by Jerry N. J. Vondeling

May 2018 Titanic Commutator
Titanic Covers- Part Two
by Jerry N. J. Vondeling

Articles courtesy of their respective publication/society.

Auction Lots, Sales and Write-Ups

Christie's New York-Maritime Lot 83 Cover 08	Early American Cover Cover 13	Jan. 30, 2001 Sandafayre Mail Bid Sale 550 Cover 09	Feb. 15, 2005 Hunter Sale 7105 Lot 7229 Cover 05	June 16, 2005 Cavendish Auction 672 Lot 79 Cover 03, unsold
Nov. 25, 2005 Grosvenor Auction 25 Lot 3676 Cover 03	May 26, 2009 Sandafayre Auction 6161 Lot 3803 Cover 05	March 29-30, 2012 Spink Auction 138 Lot 1559 Cover 14, unsold	July 19, 2012 Spink Collectors Series 2 Lot 610 Cover 04, Sold-$1,400	Jan. 11, 2013 Regency-Superior Auction 97 Lot 428 Cover 12, Sold-$5,250
Nov. 24, 2013 Regency-Superior Auction 102 Lot 1233 Cover 14, unsold, highest bid $3,000, reserve not met	June 4, 2014 Regency-Superior Auction 105 Lot 570 Cover 14, sold for $3,000	April 23, 2016 Henry Aldridge & Sons Auction SS230416, Lot 206 Cover 13, no details	August 11, 2016 PHS Auctions Online Offering Cover 18, unsold	May 19, 2017 Kelleher Auction 699 Lot 5001 Cover 04, sold for $650
May 16, 2020 Michael Rogers Online/Kelleher Auction 3003 Lot 3 Cover 20, unsold	July 15, 2020 Kelleher Auction 741 Lot 2 Cover 20, sold for $2,000	sometime in 2020 Online Paul Fraser Collectibles Cover 09, sold for $6,836	July 5, 2022 T and T Auctions Auction 149 Lot 271 Cover 05, £800 ($960)	March 26, 2023 eBay Auction Lot Kupersmit Philatelics Cover 22, ask $2,499.99 sold 3/28, $1,900

Reference Material

French Postal Rates
1876-1971

Spanish Postal Rates
1901-1920

Southampton-NY Sailing
Schedule, Aug 1911-Apr 1912

US Ship Arrivals
March 15-17, 1912

Titanic Lecture Notes
by J. David Rogers

1910 Cover to the
M.A. Winter Company

1911 Covers to the
M.A. Winter Company

History of the
Winter Company Building

Titanic Facing Slips
by Ken Sanford
La Catastrophe
March, 2010

This Cover Definitely
Missed the Boat!

Olympic-Titanic Ship
Marking Connection
Tom Fortunato
October, 2015

1911 Danish brochure

White Star shipping lanes

Postmark used aboard
Titanic's voyage

Articles Sought

Stamp Collector, September 21, 1998, "What Connects 1912 Cover with Doomed Liner"

Presentation

There is a story behind my interest in these covers, and here it is! These 30 slides explain the cover I found back in 1986 and detail what I and others around the globe have found out about them, containing updated information known as of September, 2022. Take a look, and enjoy!

My Titanic Cover that Missed the Boat (PDF- 5.4 megs), (PowerPoint- 17.5 megs) by Tom Fortunato

Links

Encyclopedia Titanica- everything Titanic!

Encyclopedia Titanica- mail related articles

Titanic Historical Society

Titanic Interactive- The History Channel

Titanic-Titanic- information site

Titanic Stories- Belfast's Official Web Site

Titanic in Nova Scotia

Titanic and Other White Star Line Ships

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

Titanic Branson/Pidgeon Forge Museums

Wreck & Crash Mail Society

France & Colonies Philatelic Society

UK Centennial Cancels

This site was "launched" on April 1, 2012 honoring the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sailing.
Last updated on April 15, 2024. Created by Tom Fortunato, Rochester, NY. Email your comments to me at: stamptmf@gmail.com
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