The Last Mail Off the Titanic

Almost nothing written aboard the Titanic survives. What does is the mail that left the ship, and the last of it went ashore at Queenstown, Ireland, on April 11, 1912.

One of those letters was written by Jack Butterworth, a 23-year-old first class saloon steward, to his fiancee in Southampton. Four days later he was lost with the ship. His letter leads the ocean liner lots in Weiss Auctions’ Fall Historical Auction, alongside a real photo postcard of the Titanic and a document signed by her captain, E. J. Smith.

A Letter Home from the Maiden Voyage

Butterworth headed his two-page letter “RMS Tiatanic. Queenstown 12th Apl 1912.” He was writing in a hurry: the ship’s name is misspelled and the date is off by a day, since the Titanic called at Queenstown on April 11.

A Firsthand Account of the New York Near-Collision

He opens with the incident that almost ended the voyage at the dock, in what could be the most important firsthand account of the near-collision with the New York. As the Titanic left Southampton, the liner New York broke her moorings and swung toward her. “You could have tossed a penny from our ship to her she was so close,” he wrote.

The rest is for May: “I shall soon be with you again all being well.” His postscript asks her to write ahead to Plymouth, the first port on the return crossing, and to send a football paper.

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Delivered on Her Twenty-First Birthday

Butterworth did not come home. His body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett and buried at sea on April 24, 1912. According to Encyclopedia Titanica, the letter reached May Hinton on April 20, her 21st birthday, the same day White Star Line told her he was not among the survivors.

The letter and portrait were sold together at Christie’s in 2003.

RMS Titanic Southampton Real Photo Postcard

This original photographic postcard, captioned “S.S. TITANIC.”, shows the liner from the bow at her Southampton berth with signal flags flying from her rigging. The Titanic was dressed in flags on Good Friday, April 5, 1912, five days before she sailed. It is widely described as the only time she ever was.

The card was mailed from Southampton, with a King George V halfpenny stamp and a handwritten message on the reverse.

Titanic Captain E. J. Smith Signed 1897 Document

Fifteen years before the Titanic, Edward John Smith was captain of the White Star liner SS Majestic. This 1897 Board of Trade Certificate of Discharge bears his signature, “E. J. Smith,” on the master’s line.

It was issued to a 24-year-old Glasgow-born fireman after a New York voyage, with Very Good ratings for conduct and ability. Smith died in the Titanic disaster on April 15, 1912.

More Ocean Liner Lots, Aviation and Entertainment

These are not the only ocean liner lots in the Fall Historical Auction. The sale of nearly 500 lots also features aviation and space autographs led by Neil Armstrong, and entertainment memorabilia led by a signed 1968 Jimi Hendrix recording contract.

Sixty-Six Years of Flight, Told in Signatures

Orville Wright flew for twelve seconds at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon in 1969. This fall, both of their signatures are in the same sale.

Weiss Auctions’ Fall Historical Auction brings together one of our deepest groups of aviation and space material to date. It is led by Neil Armstrong signed items, including a NASA spacesuit portrait, a TIME “Man on the Moon” issue and two Apollo 11 crew-signed pieces, and it traces the full story of flight: the Wright brothers, Charles Lindbergh, the naval aviators of World War II, the V-2 rockets that opened the space age, the Mercury 7, Apollo 8 and the Space Shuttle era.

The material comes from several collections, giving bidders a wide range of names, eras and price points, and many of the signed pieces have been authenticated by Steve Grad.

A Rare Opportunity in Neil Armstrong Autographs

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Few names in the twentieth century carry the same weight, and few autographs are pursued as seriously by collectors of space history.

Finding one authentic Armstrong signature in a sale is notable. This auction offers several, across a range of formats, giving collectors a rare chance to choose the Armstrong piece that fits their collection.

Signed NASA Spacesuit Portrait

The classic Armstrong image: his official NASA portrait in the Apollo spacesuit, helmet at his side and the lunar surface behind him, captioned “Neil A. Armstrong” in the lower margin. Armstrong signed boldly across the suit in the lower right.

Signed TIME Magazine, July 25, 1969

TIME’s “Man on the Moon” issue went to press in the days after the landing, with a painted cover of an astronaut beside the American flag on the lunar surface and Armstrong’s famous first words from the Moon printed along the bottom. Armstrong signed the cover in blue ink across the figure of the astronaut, pairing his signature with one of the defining magazine covers of the century.

Armstrong also appears on two Apollo 11 crew-signed pieces and a photograph signed with Michael Collins, covered below.

Why Authentic Neil Armstrong Autographs Are So Hard to Find

Armstrong’s autograph is one of the most difficult of any major American figure to acquire in authentic form. Several factors explain why.

He Stopped Signing in 1994

Armstrong was famously private. After returning from the Moon he largely avoided the spotlight, and by 1994 he had stopped signing autographs altogether, answering requests with a polite form letter. He is widely reported to have made the decision after learning that his signature was selling for large sums and that forgeries were circulating, though he never publicly explained it. The result effectively froze the supply of genuine Armstrong signatures, while demand has only grown since.

Secretarial Signatures and Autopens

During the NASA years, the volume of fan requests sent to the astronauts was enormous. Many photographs and covers that went out in that period were signed by secretaries or by autopen machines rather than by the astronauts themselves. These pieces can look convincing to an untrained eye, which is one reason careful authentication matters so much in this field.

One of the Most Forged Signatures in Collecting

Because of its value and fame, Armstrong’s signature is also among the most frequently forged in the autograph market. Experienced collectors buy Armstrong only with strong authentication and from reputable sources, and they pay a premium for pieces that meet that standard.

Signed by the Crew That Landed on the Moon

Pieces signed by all three Apollo 11 astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, are among the most desirable items in space collecting. This sale offers two, along with a photograph signed by Armstrong and Collins.

Weiss Auctions’ specialists regularly handle Apollo 11 material. In 2025, Jordan Weiss appraised an Apollo 11 crew-signed cover. Watch the appraisal on Facebook.

Apollo 11 Crew-Signed NASA Mission Report

NASA’s official Apollo 11 Mission Report (MR-5), dated 14 August 1969, features the iconic photograph of Aldrin standing beside the American flag on the lunar surface. It is signed on the cover by all three crew members: Armstrong at left, Collins beneath the Apollo 11 title and Aldrin at right.

Apollo 11 Crew-Signed “First Man on the Moon” Stamp Block

The 10-cent “First Man on the Moon” airmail stamp, issued in September 1969, shows an astronaut stepping from the lunar module ladder. This block of six, with the “Mail Early in the Day” margin at left, is signed across the stamps by Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins, putting the full crew’s signatures on the stamp that commemorated their own landing.

NASA Photograph Signed by Armstrong and Collins

The sale also offers a NASA photograph signed by two members of the Apollo 11 crew, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.

The Mercury 7 and the First Crew to Orbit the Moon

Mercury 7 Signed Cover, 1961

America’s first astronauts, selected in 1959, became national heroes before most of them had even flown. This cover is postmarked Hampton, Virginia, on October 2, 1961, near Langley, where NASA’s Space Task Group trained the Mercury astronauts, and bears the 4-cent Echo I “Communications for Peace” stamp. It carries the signatures of all seven: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton.

Complete Mercury 7 signed pieces are scarce, in part because Grissom died in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967. The Alan Shepard signature on this cover is an autopen; the other six are authentic. It is a good example of why expert review of astronaut material matters.

Mercury 7 material has a long history with Weiss Auctions. On Antiques Roadshow in Denver in 2009, Philip Weiss appraised a photograph signed by all seven Mercury astronauts, accompanied by paperwork from their original medical evaluations.

Apollo 8 Crew-Signed First Day Cover

In December 1968, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders became the first people to leave Earth orbit and circle the Moon. Anders’ “Earthrise” photograph from that mission became one of the most famous images ever taken, and it was reproduced on the 6-cent Apollo 8 stamp issued in Houston on May 5, 1969. This Fleetwood first day cover, cancelled on the day of issue, is signed by all three crew members.

Wernher von Braun and the “First Object Retrieved from Outer Space”

Before Apollo, there was the V-2. After World War II, captured German V-2 rockets were launched from White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico, with Wernher von Braun and his team assisting the U.S. Army. Von Braun would go on to lead the development of the Saturn V that carried Apollo 11 to the Moon.

This War Department, Ordnance Department letter on White Sands Proving Ground letterhead, dated October 30, 1946 and signed by First Lieutenant Alexander Szabo, public relations officer, certifies that the attached object was part of the “Mix-Computer” of a V-2 rocket fired at White Sands on October 24, 1946. The October 24 flight is widely remembered for carrying a camera that returned the first photographs of Earth taken from space.

The rocket fragment remains affixed to the page above a typed line calling it the “First Object retrieved from Outer Space.” Von Braun signed the letter in blue ink and, with a wry touch, drew an arrow to the fragment and added “quite obviously!” It is a remarkable piece connecting the man who built the Saturn V to the earliest days of American rocketry.

Christa McAuliffe Signed Cover, January 28, 1986

Christa McAuliffe, a high school social studies teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, was chosen from thousands of applicants to be NASA’s first Teacher in Space. On January 28, 1986, she and six crewmates were lost when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch.

This cover bears a “Teachers are the nicest people!” cachet with a Space Shuttle design and the 22-cent Public Education stamp, cancelled at Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986, the day of the launch. It is signed “S. Christa McAuliffe.” Because her time in the public eye lasted only a matter of months, authentic McAuliffe signatures are genuinely scarce, and pieces tied directly to the Challenger mission carry deep historical weight.

Orville Wright: Where the Story of Flight Begins

On December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright piloted the first sustained, controlled, powered airplane flight. It lasted about twelve seconds and covered roughly 120 feet. Everything else in this article traces back to that morning.

Wilbur Wright died in 1912, which makes his signature exceptionally rare. Earlier in 2026, Weiss Auctions handled one of the few known signed photographs of Wilbur Wright, which sold for just over $10,000. Orville lived until 1948 but remained a reserved figure who guarded his time and privacy. His autograph is the cornerstone of any aviation collection.

This card is signed “Orville Wright” in ink above a typed verse honoring the courage of the brave. It is paired with a plate number block of four 2-cent International Civil Aeronautics Conference stamps, which show the Wright Flyer and commemorate the December 12 to 14, 1928 conference in Washington marking the 25th anniversary of the first flight.

Charles Lindbergh and the Flight That Shrank the Atlantic

On May 20 and 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis nonstop and alone from New York to Paris in about 33 and a half hours. The flight made him the most famous man in the world almost overnight and launched a wave of public enthusiasm for aviation.

That fame came at a steep personal cost. After the 1932 kidnapping and death of his infant son, Lindbergh withdrew sharply from public life and became well known for his reluctance to sign autographs. As a result, authentic Lindbergh signatures are far scarcer than his worldwide celebrity might suggest.

Edward “Butch” O’Hare: The Navy Ace Behind the Airport Name

Millions of travelers pass through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport every year, but far fewer know the story of the man it honors. On February 20, 1942, Lieutenant Edward “Butch” O’Hare single-handedly attacked a formation of Japanese bombers bearing down on the aircraft carrier USS Lexington and was credited with downing five of them. He became the U.S. Navy’s first ace of World War II and received the Medal of Honor.

This special delivery airmail cover, postmarked Pensacola, Florida, in May 1942, is signed “E H O’Hare Lt Cmdr USN,” using the rank he received in the weeks after that action. It is franked with a block of 2-cent “For Defense” stamps and wartime airmail and special delivery issues, capturing O’Hare at the height of his fame.

O’Hare went missing in action during a night mission in November 1943, at just 29 years old. In 1949, Chicago renamed its Orchard Depot airfield in his honor. Because his fame and his life were both so brief, his signature is a genuinely scarce piece of World War II aviation history.

Aviation and Space Highlights

The offering covers an unusually wide range of eras, names and formats, from a 1928 aeronautics card to a 1986 Space Shuttle cover.

The aviation material is part of the Fall Historical Auction, a sale of nearly 500 lots that also features a signed 1968 Jimi Hendrix Warner Bros.-Seven Arts recording contract, music autographs including John Lennon, Otis Redding, George Harrison and Johnny Cash, presidential signed appointments, vintage fountain pens, tobacco jars and beer steins. Much more is still to come.

One Collector, One Mailbox, Nearly a Century of Survival

Long before autograph shows, private signings, authentication companies and online marketplaces, a young baseball fan built his collection with envelopes, stamps and patience.

Beginning in the 1930s, he mailed baseball cards and autograph sheets to players, teams, hotels, clubhouses and stadiums, hoping they would come back signed. Many did. What makes the group especially compelling today is not simply that the method was unusual. Through-the-mail collecting was already a familiar pastime among determined young fans. As a result, what’s remarkable is that so much of this material remained together across generations.

The collection now coming to Weiss Auctions includes signed Goudey and Diamond Stars cards, team-signed sheets and loose autographs from major stars and Hall of Famers. At its center sit signed Goudey cards of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

What Does "Through the Mail" Mean in Autograph Collecting?

Through-the-mail autograph collecting, usually shortened to TTM, means sending an item to a player, team or venue and asking for it to be signed and returned. Collectors commonly mailed cards, government postcards, photographs, album pages or blank sheets and often included a self-addressed stamped envelope.

For fans who had little realistic chance to meet major-league players in person, the mail created a direct route to the game. In addition, team hotels, clubhouses and stadium offices all received fan correspondence, and the returned material could carry a genuine player signature, a signature someone supplied on the player’s behalf, or occasionally no signature at all.

Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and a Deep Roster of Hall of Famers

The headline pieces are the Ruth and Gehrig Goudey cards, which the collector preserved within his original TTM archive. The broader collection extends across 1930s card issues and team-signed sheets, including material associated with the New York Giants, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers.

Beyond those two headline cards, the larger group also includes Joe DiMaggio, Hank Greenberg, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Joe Medwick and other stars of the period.

Other Hall of Fame Highlights

Not Everything Returned Through the Mail Was Player-Signed

Vintage TTM material has an important complication. Not every card or sheet that came back from a team or clubhouse carried the actual signature of the player named on the envelope. For example, high-volume stars sometimes had club employees, secretaries, attendants or others sign for them.

Collectors today often call these clubhouse or secretarial signatures. They are part of the history of fan-mail collecting, but they are not the player’s own handwriting.

PSA/DNA, JSA, and Beckett Authentication have authenticated most of the collection, and respected individual authenticators such as Steve Grad have authenticated other auction highlights, depending on the item.

What Gives a Vintage TTM Baseball Autograph Its Value?

Several factors beyond the signer’s identity influence value. Collectors also consider the item signed, the date and period of the signature, scarcity, visual presentation, condition, provenance and authentication.

Period-signed cards from this era are far less common than later signed-card material. In fact, collectors didn’t widely regard getting a card signed as worthwhile until relatively recently in the hobby’s history. For most of the 20th century, a signature could just as easily devalue a card in a collector’s eyes as add to it. As a result, a genuinely player-signed card from the 1930s is an unusual survivor: it only exists because a young fan cared enough to mail it off decades before that kind of thing was common practice, let alone prized.

Cut Signatures vs. Signed Cards

Likewise, a period signature on an important baseball card can occupy a different market position from the same signature on an index card or later photograph. In the case of Ruth and Gehrig, a genuine signature appearing on a classic prewar Goudey card combines two collecting categories: landmark baseball cards and elite historical autographs.

In addition, provenance can add another layer. A group that remains together and can be understood as a single collecting archive provides context that an isolated autograph may not have. For researchers and collectors, that context can be as interesting as the individual signatures themselves.