Rare Titanic Letter Heads for Auction

A rare, first-person account of the ordeal of one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster will soon hit the auction block.

The letter is a signed affidavit from Laura Francatelli (second from the right in the above photo), a passenger aboard the Titanic as well as the secretary to two controversial figures in the oceanliner's saga, Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon.

Following the disaster, Sir Cosmo is thought to have paid crewmen for access to a lifeboat. When the ship went down, the lifeboat ferrying Sir Cosmo -- and Francatelli -- to safety didn't bother to return to rescue drowning victims.

The letter, however, paints a different portrait of Sir Cosmo. According to Francatelli, Sir Cosmo initially refused to board a lifeboat, but insisted that Lady Duff and Francatelli immediately evacuate the sinking Titanic. Sir Cosmo left the oceanliner reluctantly only after the insistence of an officer on board.

According to Francatelli, Sir Cosmo did not pay the crewmen for access to a lifeboat, but rather out of gratitude for the rescue....