Violin played to passengers in Titanic blockbuster film goes up for auction with £60,000 price tag

9 April 2025, 08:39 | Updated: 9 April 2025, 09:53

RMS Titanic
RMS Titanic. Picture: Alamy

By Danielle de Wolfe

The violin played by the bandmaster in the Hollywood film depicting the sinking of the Titanic is expected to sell for up to £60,000 at auction.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The scene shows Wallace Hartley leading his fellow musicians in playing as the doomed ocean liner goes down, most famously the hymn Nearer My God To Thee.

Mr Hartley and his seven fellow band members were killed in the tragedy in 1912, in which a total of 1,500 people died after the ship hit an iceberg.

In the eponymous film, directed by James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet star as members of different social classes who fall in love during the ship's maiden voyage.

Violinist/actor Jonathan Evans-Jones played bandmaster Mr Hartley carrying on in the face of impending doom.

It follows the sale of the original violin that was allegedly played to calm passengers on the Titanic as it sank, eventually being sold for £900,000 in 2013.

Read more: London falls out of top five wealthiest cities in the world as millionaires flee capital

Read more: Elon Musk brands Trump's top tariff guru 'dumber than a sack of bricks' as cracks form in White House alliance

Violinist/actor Jonathan Evans-Jones (right) played bandmaster Mr Hartley carrying on in the face of impending doom.
Violinist/actor Jonathan Evans-Jones (right) played bandmaster Mr Hartley carrying on in the face of impending doom. Picture: Alamy

The original screen violin can be seen multiple times in the 1997 blockbuster and during the sequence of the Titanic sinking as Nearer My God To Thee is played.

Mr Evans-Jones sold the violin in 2013 and it has been in the possession of a private collector since they purchased it at an auction.

The violin, which comes with a signed certificate of authenticity, is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge & Son, of Devizes, Wiltshire, on April 26.

Generic stock image violin
Generic stock image violin. Picture: Alamy

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "Having sold the original violin that was played by Wallace Hartley when the Titanic sank on April 15th 1912 in 2013 for £1.1 million, we are delighted to offer the violin that was played in James Cameron's movie for auction, one of the highest grossing movies of all time.

"This is a true piece of movie history that will appeal to both Titanic and movie memorabilia collectors - it's a true cross-collectible."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid celebrates a goal.

Four people given suspended prison sentences for hate crimes after hanging effigy of Real Madrid star

Electricity prices in the UK are high because of the "insane" wholesale market, Parliament has been told.

UK electricity prices ‘way too high’ because of ‘insane’ wholesale market, Parliament told

Detectives have released CCTV footage of a man they wish to speak to following an attempted rape

Bid to trace man as police investigate attempted rape of woman in cinema

Exclusive
Jess Phillips on LBC

Victims deserve credit for grooming gangs national inquiry - not Elon Musk, says Labour minister

Lammy insists UK 'not involved' in Israeli air strikes  - as Iranian state TV studio 'hit by rockets' during live broadcast.

Lammy insists UK 'not involved' in Israeli air strikes - as Iranian state TV studio 'hit by rockets' live on air

The Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, where Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will visit on Wednesday Aug. 7, 2024 following riots

Pregnant teenager facing jail term following role in Rotherham riots targeting migrant hotel

Hamilton started the race in fifth and looked to be on course for a positive 70 laps - before his Grand Prix was impacted in the initial stages.

Lewis Hamilton is left 'devastated' after hitting a furry animal at 100mph in F1's Canadian Grand Prix

Gareth Bale is reportedly being lined up to front a takeover of League One side Plymouth

Gareth Bale in talks to front shock US takeover of League One club

DJ John Reid has died suddenly aged 61

Top DJ dies suddenly aged 61 as music stars pay tribute

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media at the G7 summit, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, Monday, June 16, 2025.

'Israel has right to defend itself - and Iran cannot have nuclear weapons', say world leaders at G7 summit in Canada

Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of 92-year-old Ryland Headley appearing via video link at Bristol Magistrates' Court, charged with the rape and murder of widow Louisa Dunne in Bristol in 1967.

Man, 92, goes on trial for the rape and murder of a pensioner in 1967

.

Scottish school apologises after calling Union Flag 'offensive or sectarian' in letter to parents

Richard Oladi, who works in NHS primary care alongside his mother, is currently stuck in Tehran.

'Desperately frightened' NHS worker describes being trapped in Tehran while on a family visit with his mother

A crane retrieves part of the fuselage of the Air India Boeing 787 on June 14, 2025 in Ahmedabad, India.

Families of British Air India crash victims 'feel utterly abandoned' as they blast UK government's response

Chris Brown is back on stage after being bailed

Where Chris Brown will play on Breezy Bowl XX world tour after bail

Viswash Kumar Ramesh (circled) walking out of the wreckage while clutching his phone

New video shows sole survivor of Air India disaster walking away from fireball wreck while on his phone