The decorations on the box looked like something John's mother would like, so I took it down from the shelf thinking it could be part of her Christmas gift, since she loves playing cards.
A few aspects of this purchase begged to be investigated:
1) I had hopes that the cards were vintage.The Missions to Seamen is is still around. Since 2000, it's been called The Missions to Seafarers. The name Britannia Airways was used from 1961 to 1995, so the cards date from then. No way of knowing yet if it's nearer to 1961 or 1995. But maybe, I thought, the next piece of the puzzle would give me a clue.
2) When I tipped the cards out of the box, I found this clipping:
Now I was on to something. Could this box have been owned by Laura Francatelli's nephew? Maybe he even received it from her estate. Was I holding an object that was within two degrees of separation from Titanic history?
The auction, which took place in 2007, also included a letter Laura wrote shortly after the disaster, and her affidavit from the subsequent legal inquiry. The life jacket was signed by people aboard that last lifeboat she shared with, among other people, Lady Duff-Gordon and Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon.
None of this, of course, proves that the box belonged to Laura's nephew. None of the sources I found mentioned the nephew's name, much less where he lived and if and when he died. No clue then, if the box may have been from his estate.
3) The bottom of the box has this tag affixed to it:
Do the numbers indicate the year it was made, or is it just the number of the box? What about the company Persian Crafts? Were they importers, located in the UK, or did the owner pick this up on his or her travels? Is the company still around? Google remains silent on the topic.
If anyone reading this has any ideas about this -- or any other part of this mystery -- please share.
