Washington, Oct 17 (IANS) A grainy black-and-white photograph showing an iceberg in the middle of a calm sea that caused the RMS Titanic to sink in 1912, is up for auction, the media reported on Saturday.

It was taken by the chief steward of the ocean liner Prinz Adalbert on the morning of April 15, 1912, hours after the RMS Titanic sank following its collision with an iceberg the previous evening.

The Titanic had sunk by the time the Prinz Adalbert came along, and the chief steward was unaware of what had happened, CNN reported.

What sets this photograph apart from others that purported to show the famous berg is a note the chief steward wrote to accompany the picture. In it, the steward said he saw red paint “plainly visible” on the iceberg that appeared to have been left by the scraping of a vessel.

The photograph hung for decades on the walls of the law firm representing the Titanic’s owners, White Star Line. The firm closed in 2002, and the four partners of the firm have now put it up for auction, along with the note.

Both are being offered by Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers Britain, with a presale estimate of 10-15,000 pounds ($15,400-$23,200).

The auction is scheduled for October 24.

The Titanic was on its maiden voyage crossing the Atlantic when it hit the iceberg, carrying just over 2,200 passengers and crew, of whom 1,517 died.