Original pic of the iceberg that sunk Titanic discovered

An original photograph of the gigantic iceberg that sunk the Titanic nearly 100 years back has been discovered.

The black and white snapshot was taken by a passenger on the RMS Carpathia, the ship that belatedly came to the rescue of 705 survivors of the tragedy of April 14, 1912.

Also visible in the image is the hull of the lifeboat that saved the lucky survivors from lifeboats adrift in the frozen Atlantic.

The image was given to J John Pillsbury Snyder, a 24-year-old Minnesota man who was returning from a two-month honeymoon tour of Europe aboard the Titanic, with his new bride, Nelle.

It was taken by Mabel Fenwick, another newlywed passenger on the Carpathia, who had struck up a friendship with the Snyders, the Daily Mail reported.

The Snyders were among twenty five passengers heading for Minnesota but they were one of the few who experienced the luxury of Titanic's first class quarters.

Snyder was the grandson of Minnesota's eighth governor, John Sargent Pillsbury.

While the ship was still in London, Snyder had penned a letter to a cigar merchant whom he had visited on his trip, that is now going under the hammer.

The photograph, letter and other items are being auctioned off as part of a 100-year anniversary sale.

From his cabin he jotted down a 100 word thank-you note on the official stationery of the Titanic.
The letter is dated April 10 1912, five days before the ship sank, killing 1,523 of the Titanic's 2,228 passengers.

The letter was posted on a stop in France or Ireland, before the ship embarked on its journey across the Atlantic, which is how it survived.

In a previous auction, the letter and other items belonging to John Snyder were bought by an unknown private collector for USD 83,500.

"Because of the 100th anniversary...anything written from the deck of the Titanic on Titanic stationery has extreme value," Bobby Livingston, of RR Auction said.