The story of the Titanic is one of mystery and intrigue, glitz and glamour, tragedy and death. It is ultimately a fable about how the narcissism of the Gilded Age brought down "unsinkable" technology. But, as fans of James Cameron's film know, the tale didn't end when the oceanliner hit the seabed on April 15, 1912. On Thursday, the "museum-quality exhibition company" Premier Exhibitions — infamous for its "Bodies" exhibition — announced that it will auction off its long-touring trove of 5,500 Titanic artifacts in a single-lot auction at Guernsey's in New York on April 11. Joining a parade of over-the-top events related to the Titanic's centennial, the sale, which will not be open to the public, is expected to bring in as much as $189 million. It may be the last resort for a company plagued by controversy.

First opening in Florida, the "Bodies" exhibition proved a hugely popular crowdpleaser when it traveled in 2005 to South Street Seaport — ironically enough, just a few miles from where the Titanic was to dock — but engendered international headlines when it was revealed that Premier was unable to account for the provenance of its cadavers. Just weeks after the television news show "20/20" aired a report on the black market for cadavers in China, Premier CEO Arnie Geller resigned (only to return later that year and then be forced out again in 2009 by the current company chairman, Mark Sellers). An investigation by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concluded that “the grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China.” In a settlement with New York State, Premier agreed to account for the provenance of each body it puts on display — but only when showing the bodies in New York. In 2010, France became the first country to ban the exhibit outright.

All the while, Premier continued to display its Titanic artifacts, which it owes to an unusual series of legal manouvers. In 1994, a U.S. federal court granted the company "salvor-in-possession" status of the wreckage, allowing it — and no one else — to mine the ship for objects it could then feature in exhibitions in a "guardian" capacity. Overall, this allowed the company to conduct seven expeditions to the Titanic, including a 2010 dive during which it used special 3-D cameras to record the full site from bow to stern. Then, last August, the company received the windfall it had been waiting for: the court granted it title to all of the artifacts it had salvaged, plus rights to the intellectual property it recovered during its 2010 expedition. However, the company is still subject to conditions requiring that all of the objects have to remain together — which is why they are being auctioned as a single lot — and have to be available for public view, meaning that they most likely need to go to a large institution that is committed to preserving and displaying them.

The August court ruling threw a desperately needed lifeline to Premier. In its October quarterly earnings report — published just two weeks after announcing that "RMS Titanic," the division of the company controlling the Titanic artifacts, would become a subsidiary separate from Premier's other exhibitions — the company reported a net loss of $2 million over the previous three months. Attendance, it said, was down 32 percent and revenue down 40 percent, even though the average ticket price had been raised. It also reported $1 million spent on litigation fees.

So what does Premier stand to earn if these artifacts sell? The company last had them appraised in 2007 — along with the associated intellectual property, which is also being sold — and the figure came out to $189 million. Being as the economy has changed substantially since 2007, however, the artifacts could be worth somewhat less than that now. The company has also committed to directing a portion of the proceeds to the Titanic Preservation Trust, an endowment created to fund future preservation of the collected artifacts. Guernsey's will receive 8 percent of the sale total, in addition to the $5 million buyer's premium it charges, according to the Atlanta Business Journal. Still, the company faces a major influx of capital if they find a buyer. Enough, that is, to keep the "Bodies" show — still on view in New York, Atlanta, and Las Vegas — open for years to come.