An unopened, scorch-marked 23cm Löwenbräu bottle recovered from the 1937 Hindenburg wreck is due to be auctioned with an estimate of £4,000–£6,000. Believed to be one of just six survivor bottles, it was recovered by firefighter Leroy Smith and forms part of the Sir David Kirsch collection. Although sealed, the bottle is scorched and the beer itself is undrinkable; the lot will be offered by Wallis & Wallis in Lewes on September 22.
Unopened Löwenbräu Bottle From 1937 Hindenburg Disaster Heads To Auction — Estimated £4,000–£6,000
The Hindenburg crash in New Jersey left a death toll of 36 - Murray Becker/AP
An unopened, scorch-marked 23cm bottle of Löwenbräu lager recovered from the wreckage of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster is due to go under the hammer with an estimate of £4,000–£6,000.
Experts believe the bottle is one of only six known to have survived when the German airship LZ 129 Hindenburg burst into flames as it approached Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey on May 6, 1937. The disaster killed 35 of the 97 people on board and one member of the ground crew.
The bottle was described as an 'unusual piece of aviation history' - Wallis & Wallis Auctioneers/SWNS
The bottle is said to have come from a six-pack of fire-damaged Löwenbräu recovered by Leroy Smith, a New Jersey fire chief who served on the rescue team. Smith reportedly buried his finds at the sealed-off scene, later returned to retrieve them and distributed the mementoes to five colleagues while keeping one half-litre bottle and a silver-plated jug for himself.
The standard green bottle measures 23cm and remains sealed with a crown cap. Although unopened, its label is badly scorched and the top foil is missing, and experts note the beer inside would have spoiled long ago and is not drinkable.
A similar bottle was auctioned in 2009 - Wallis & Wallis Auctioneers/SWNS
Gerald Blaber of Wallis & Wallis Auctioneers describes the lot as 'a poignant and highly unusual piece of aviation history, a direct survivor of an event that brought the era of the great passenger airships dramatically to an end.' The bottle is offered from the Sir David Kirsch collection.
The Hindenburg engulfed in flames over Lakehurst after crossing the Atlantic from Frankfurt; investigators believe friction from landing ropes likely sparked the blaze, which consumed the airship in roughly 60 seconds. Given the intensity of the fire, surviving artefacts are extremely rare.
The bottle is catalogued with an estimate of around £4,000–£6,000 and will be offered for sale on September 22 at Wallis & Wallis Auctioneers in Lewes, East Sussex. Similar bottles previously appeared at auction in 2009 and 2013.
Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge & Sons, commenting on a prior sale, said 'Although it would taste quite foul, it is a unique item to come on the open market. It was quite incredible that anything could survive the disaster because the fire was so huge and spread so fast at the time.'
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