£55,000 for letter from Titanic passenger

The piece was penned by Adolphe Saafeld on three sides of stationery from the doomed vessel to his "wifey".

His words give a rare glimpse into day-to-day life on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912, taking 1,517 people with it.

The letter was one of 350 lots of White Star Line memorabilia sold on Saturday by auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son, in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The letter, composed five days before the disaster, was sold to an unidentified museum in Britain, which has yet to formally announce its purchase.

Explaining the appeal of the artefact, Andrew Aldridge said: "The content is superb. It gives a real first person perspective of what life was like on board, through the eyes of a first-class passenger, right down to the food, the size of the cabin and the decoration."

While other letters exist, this is the best example of its kind due to the depth of its detail, he explained.

The letter tells of Mr Saafeld's approval of a "luncheon" featuring soup, fillet of plaice, a loin chop with cauliflower and fried potatoes, apple Manhattan and Rocquefort cheese, "washed down with a large Spaten beer iced".

The perfumer added: "So you can see I am not faring badly."

At another stage he talks of the smoothness of the journey saying: "But for a slight vibration, you would not know that you are at sea."

A set of photographs relating to the Titanic, her passengers and crew was also sold to various collectors for more than 100,000.