1937 Hindenburg Relic Grouping
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GUEST:
My dad was in the Marines, and when the Hindenburg crashed in Lakehurst, New Jersey, his unit was sent to guard it till they had the investigation about why it crashed. Some of the guys picked up some of the stuff they were throwing out, and...
APPRAISER:
So he could pick whatever he wanted.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
I love this note that he typed. "I was in D Company, 5th Marines, stationed in Quantico, Virginia, on May 6, 1937, when our company was called to Lakehurst, New Jersey. The German dirigible Hindenburg had burned and crashed on landing. My company was assigned to guard the wreckage while the investigation was carried on," and it's signed by your father. It's a great display. And obviously, a lot of folks know the story behind the Hindenburg. It was on its transatlantic voyage, and it suddenly burst into flames, the hydrogen core. Folks probably remember, "Oh, the humanity!" And so much debris fell, and obviously, there were lives lost, so it had to be a controlled site. What's interesting about this grouping is that you've got so many different types of material. You have a pull rope, part of the metal strut, which is the thing we more commonly see. You have here this labeled "upholstery." I think it might actually be canvas from the skin of the airship.
GUEST:
Oh, it could be.
APPRAISER:
But that would require a little bit more examination. Plus, you have the window section, which is very unusual. And plus, you can see what had happened to it, it's charred and started to melt. So this type of grouping at auction, because with the solid provenance of your father being an actual guard on site, I would say we're somewhere in the $5,000 to $7,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And for insurance, I'd be at, like, $10,000.
GUEST:
Okay.
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