J. Bruce Ismay

Joseph Bruce Ismay (1862-1937) as legend has it was one of the people who came up with the concept of the Olympic Class Liners including the Titanic.  He was the son of Thomas Henry Ismay, the man who made the White Star Line a major player in many of the shipping lanes and he was the chairman of the White Star Line.  J. Bruce Ismay was one of the most famous and criticized people on the Titanic due to the fact it was sailing with enough room in the lifeboats for half on board and the controversial moment in which he survived by getting into one of the last lifeboats to leave the ship.  History hasn't always been kind to him, but truth is not always what you see in the movies and a closer look at Ismay's actions in the context of what was going on at the time will show he wasn't really doing anything wrong.  He was doing what he could and his actions saved many lives during the lifeboat evacuation.

Being such an integral part of the Titanic story from beginning to end means items from him are highly sought after and often valuable.  This letter is a notice of receipt by J. Bruce Ismay from the estate of Luke Bruce who was his maternal grandfather.  The letter is on White Star Line stationary from the headquarters in Liverpool and has his original signature after the message.