Interested parties have until the end of this week to bid on about 5,500 artifacts from the sunken ship Titanic, some intellectual property relating to video footage and imagery of the wreck, and the rights to explore and salvage the wreckage site for more objects, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The auction is the first of its kind for the ship’s treasures and goods, and comes more than a year after Premier Exhibitions Inc., the company behind the traveling “Titanic” and “Bodies” exhibitions, filed for bankruptcy. Potential buyers are bidding on such trinkets as a bronze cherub from the grand staircase used by first-class passengers, a blue sapphire ring surrounded by 14 small diamonds, a steward’s jacket and a silver-plated chocolate pot used in the ship’s first-class restaurant. Private-equity firms and other companies have reportedly already expressed interest in the sale. Offers are due Friday, and if more than one is received, an auction is scheduled for November.
