<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  On April 14, 1912, Ruth Dodge, the wife of a prominent banker, placed the Titanic&amp;#039;s first-class lunch menu in her purse and went about her day before chaos ensued. Almost 100 years later, the menu has remained with the Dodge family ever since their ancestors survived the sinking Titanic. Little did Mrs. Dodge know that after almost a century her menu would be auctioned off for an estimated $150,000 or more. According to the Telegraph, the menu itself is fairly plain looking, but it offered first-class guests four courses: appetizers, grilled items, buffet, and cheese. There were 40 total options, including consomm\u00E9 fermier, salmon mayonnaise, chicken a la Maryland, grilled mutton chops, and custard pudding and apple meringue for dessert. Henry Aldridge &amp;amp;amp; Son is the world&amp;#039;s leading Titanic memorabilia auctioneer and will be responsible for the sale of the menu. It&amp;#039;s set to go under the hammer on March 31, 2012, in London, exactly 100 years after the Titanic was completed and deemed ready to travel. While any memorabilia from the sunken ship is valuable today, according to Andrew Aldridge, the menu &amp;quot;is one of the rarest items of Titanic memorabilia to be sold in recent years.&amp;quot; Why is this particular Titanic menu set to fetch a hefty sum at the auction? Mrs. Dodge&amp;#039;s item is considered the &amp;quot;opportunity of a lifetime&amp;quot; for collectors because the menu is representative of the last day aboard the ship, carrying the now famous date of April 14. The Dodge family was lucky to survive. As first-class passengers, Mrs. Doge and her son were placed onto lifeboats along with many other women and children when the ship began to sink. Luckily for Dr. Dodge, a crew member who knew him personally later ushered him onto a lifeboat stating that he needed help caring for the children already on board. In an interview after the family had been rescued, Mrs. Dodge reportedly said, &amp;quot;I will never forget the awful scene of the great steamer as we drew away.&amp;quot; What do you think: Should a menu from the final day on the Titanic be worth more than $150,000? If money were no object, what would you pay for the menu? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a38887/titanic-menu-auction/>