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Intact and sealed bottle of beer, ex-Empress of Ireland (1914), ex-Bart Malone.

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 375.00 USD
Intact and sealed bottle of beer, ex-Empress of Ireland (1914), ex-Bart Malone.
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This item SOLD at 2020 Nov 18 @ 19:34UTC-5 : EST/CDT
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Intact and sealed bottle of beer, ex-Empress of Ireland (1914), ex-Bart Malone. 8-3/4" x 2-3/4", 888 grams. The sinking of the R.M.S. Empress of Ireland in the Saint Lawrence River on May 29, 1914 ranks among the worst shipwrecks ever and has come to be known as "Canada's Titanic." In the early hours of that day, the ship, caught in fog, was struck on its starboard side at midships by the Norwegian collier Storstad. Within 15 minutes after the collision, the Empress of Ireland had turned on its starboard side and sank into the river; only 465 passengers and crew were saved of the 1,477 on board. This bottle of beer was recovered intact from the wreck decades after its sinking. It would have been stored in one of the ship's fully stocked pantries among other bottles of beer, champagne, and wine. While any labels or markings indicating the beer style or its producer have disintegrated, the glass bottle is identified as being produced by English glassmaker Cannington, Shaw & Co. Limited by the "CS & Co. LD." and "5020." markings on the bottom. The beer is still sealed in the bottle by its cork, which has been covered with wax after its recovery for reinforcement. It is uncommon to find intact bottles aboard shipwrecks and much rarer to have one from a very famous wreck still containing its 100+ year old contents. From the Empress of Ireland (1914), pedigreed to the collection of diver Bart Malone, past curator of the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History. Recovered from:R.M.S. Empress of Ireland, sunk in 1914 in the Saint Lawrence River, Canada