DuMouchelles
Live Auction

December 2025: Day Two

Fri, Dec 19, 2025 11:00AM EST
  2025-12-19 11:00:00 2025-12-19 11:00:00 America/New_York DuMouchelles DuMouchelles : December 2025: Day Two https://live.dumoart.com/auctions/dumouchelles/december-2025-day-two-21297
Day Two features modern and MCM highlights including Eames, Cherner, and Kagan-style furniture, sculpture by Jon Allen and Jason Napier, and glass by Bubacco and Karg. Art by Avery, Floch, and Loew is joined by signed works from Picasso, Dalí, and Vasarely. Includes ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ life ring and Native American artifacts.
DuMouchelles conditions@dumoart.com
Lot 1000

Life Ring from the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald and Plank to Lifeboat 1, Ca. 1958, 1 PC

Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Starting Bid
$11,250

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$30 $10
$100 $25
$400 $50
$900 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,500
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
$200,000 $25,000
$500,000 $50,000
$1,000,000 $100,000

A significant Great Lakes maritime relic, this is an orange ring buoy with white stenciled lettering "S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald" and four black reinforcing bands holding a nylon rope. Presented with a wooden plank from Lifeboat 1 from the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.  Other life rings belonging to the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald are displayed at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, Toledo, OH; the Lake Superior Marine Museum, Deluth, MN; the Milwaukee Central Library in Wisconsin; and at the Neys Provincial Park in Canada. 

 From the time of its christening until 1971, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship to sail on the Great Lakes at 729 feet in length and weighed in at 13,632 tons when empty. On the morning of November 9, 1975, the ship departed from Superior, Wisconsin with a cargo of taconite pellets bound for Zug Island in Detroit. On November 10, 1975, gale force winds with nearly 100 mph gusts, 35-foot waves, and a blinding snowstorm broke the ship in two sometime after 7:00pm and it sank more than 500 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior in Canadian waters near Whitefish Bay. All 29 crew members perished.



Provenance:
On November 18, 1975 , ten days after the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 10 year old boy named Larry Orr found this life ring and plank from the ship's Lifeboat 1 . While walking 30 to 40 feet above the shoreline of Lake Superior he noticed each leaning against a large tree trunk in a wash that had likely been created by high water surf during the storm. The life ring and plank are both believed to have come from the Edmund Fitzgerald's No. 1 lifeboat. In 1988, Mr. Orr loaned these relics to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan until health and financial concerns necessitated its sale at public auction. 

Dimensions:
Life Ring from the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald Depth 3.5" Dia 29"
Plank from Lifeboat No. 1 H 4" W 1" L 50.5" 1 PC

Condition

When viewed under natural light, accretions, abrasions, wear, and losses in paint to ring; wear, fraying, and loss to nylon rope and straps. Plank is in weathered condition bearing losses, splits, and cracks. | Please note all lots show signs of wear commensurate with age and use, and the lack of a statement regarding condition does not imply the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from defects or the effects of aging. Unless otherwise stated, all information provided is the opinion of DuMouchelles' specialists. Should you have any specific questions regarding the condition of this lot, please use the “Request Condition Report” or “Ask a Question” buttons or email conditions@dumoart.com.

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On November 18, 1975 , ten days after the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 10 year old boy named Larry Orr found this life ring and plank from the ship's Lifeboat 1 . While walking 30 to 40 feet above the shoreline of Lake Superior he noticed each leaning against a large tree trunk in a wash that had likely been created by high water surf during the storm. The life ring and plank are both believed to have come from the Edmund Fitzgerald's No. 1 lifeboat. In 1988, Mr. Orr loaned these relics to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan until health and financial concerns necessitated its sale at public auction.