Watches

A yellow gold pencil case set with two old European cut diamonds and a round cabochon sapphire. Mounted in 14 karat yellow gold. 3 3/4 x 3/8 inches.
Engraving: Oct. 1906 J from M.
Stamp: 14K (Battin & Co. maker's mark) 2.
Gross weight: 6.95 dwt. (excluding pencil)

THE 'UNSINKABLE' SHIP’S MOST FAMOUS VICTIM

John Jacob Astor IV and his eighteen-year-old wife, Madeleine, boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg, France, on April 10, 1912. One of the wealthiest men in the world, and by far the wealthiest man on board, Astor and his wife had also attracted attention for his having divorced his wife of twenty years to marry the much younger Madeleine only seven months before the Titanic set sail. In the hopes of riding out the ensuing scandal away from New York society, which was by now the talk of the American papers, the Astors left the United States and embarked on a months-long honeymoon tour through Europe and Egypt. While in Egypt, Madeleine discovered that she was pregnant, so the couple decided to return to the United States so that their child could be born on American soil. It would be the Titanic’s maiden voyage. Accompanying the couple were Astor’s valet, Victor Robbins, Madeleine’s maid, Rosalie Bidois, her nurse Caroline Endres, and their Airedale Terrier, Kitty.

The Titanic was the second of three projected Olympic-class liners built by the Belfast Harland & Wolff shipyards for the White Star Line. Intended to compete against the rival Cunard Line’s Mauretania and Lusitania, the White Star Line ships were designed by Thomas Andrews to compete with Cunard’s liners not so much in speed as in sheer size and luxury. The RMS Olympic commenced its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on June 14, 1911 with Captain Edward J. Smith at the helm and immediately became a favorite of the rich and famous crossing back and forth between Europe and North America. The Titanic, as the younger sister, achieved slightly less attention for its maiden voyage, though as the newest and most luxurious ship in the world it nonetheless attracted the crème de la crème of the wealthy and the privileged; in addition to the Astors, the ship left Southampton with businessman Benjamin Guggenheim, co-owner of Macy’s department store Isidor Straus and his wife Ida, military officer and personal aide to President William Howard Taft, Archibald Butt, and chairman and managing director of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay.

When the Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, the Astors were in their suites on C-Deck. Hearing a commotion, Astor left to find out what was happening. He found Captain Edward J. Smith and said, “Captain, my wife is not in good health. She has gone to bed, and I don’t want to get her up unless it is absolutely necessary. What is the situation?” Captain Smith advised, “Wake your wife and come to the Boat Deck.” Astor told Madeleine it seemed only a precaution, but the crew would be loading the lifeboats.

While the crew prepared the lifeboats, the Astors talked with other passengers and waited in the gymnasium. Like many, they underestimated the danger. They considered boarding the first lifeboat at 12:45 a.m. but changed their minds with Astor remarking, “We are safer here than in that little boat.”. As the ship sank lower, the gravity of the situation became clear.

Less than an hour later, Astor helped Madeleine into Lifeboat No. 4. He asked Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller if he might join his wife, noting that she was in a “delicate condition.” Lightoller replied that no men would be loaded into lifeboats until all women and children were safely off the ship. Astor nodded, kissed Madeleine goodbye, telling her as he did, "I'll see you in New York' then stepped back. Witnesses last saw him waving to her lifeboat. 

In the days after the Titanic was lost, Astor’s eldest son, Vincent, was frantic to find his father’s body, at one point even suggesting to hire a salvage ship to go to the wreck site, use magnets to locate it precisely, and then blast open the hull in the hope that this would bring his father’s body to the surface. Ultimately, this proved to be unnecessary, as the cable ship Mackay-Bennett, which had been chartered from Halifax; by the White Star Line to recover what it could of the Titanic’s lost passengers, found Astor’s body on April 22. Vincent, and Astor’s executor, Nicholas Biddle, picked up his body and his personal effects in Halifax and returned to New York City, where he was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery, in Upper Manhattan. His was the first body to be claimed. Four months later, Madeleine gave birth to their son, John Jacob Astor VI.

Among the personal effects recovered were a “gold watch, cuff links, gold and diamond, diamond ring with three stones…and a gold pencil.”

PATH OF THE JOHN JACOB ASTOR IV GOLD PENCIL

1906 – John Jacob Astor IV receives the 14K Yellow Gold Battin & Co. pencil as a gift.

1912 – John Jacob Astor IV's body is recovered after the sinking of the Titanic. On his body are a "gold watch and gold pencil." JJA's body and his effects are picked up by his son, Vincent Astor, and the executor of his estate, Nicholas Biddle.    

1912–1959 – John Jacob Astor IV's son, Vincent Astor, inherits the pencil.

1959–2007 – Brooke Astor, Vincent Astor's wife, inherits the pencil upon Vincent's death.

2007–2014 – Brooke Astor's son, Anthony Marshall inherits the pencil after her death in 2007.

2014–2025 – Anthony Marshall's wife, Charlene Marshall, inherits the pencil after his death in 2014.

2025–present – The pencil is now owned by the Estate of Charlene Marshall, after her death in 2025.