Tag Archives: Premiere Exhibitions

Titanic News for 13 Mar 2013

1. Anna Devine writing in Leavenworth Times about dogs aboard Titanic. One interesting story was that of Rigel, a labrador, who was helpful in getting Carpathia to stop. Rigel was swimming in the water ahead of a lifeboat and his barking alerted Rostron to stop his engines before hitting the lifeboat.

Source: Pet Talk: Hero Dog That Survived The Titanic(12 Mar 2013, Leavenworth Times)

2. RMS Titanic, Inc and Premier Exhibitions are suing Thomas Zaller, Imagine Exhibitions, Inc., and Imagine Exhibitions PTE, Ltd for ” conversion, contractual breach, unjust enrichment, fraud and fraudulent inducement, trade dress (Lanham Act), and misappropriation of trade secrets.” The suit, filed late last month in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia asserts Zeller stole intellectual property from its Titanic Exhibition in Singapore in 2011 to use in competing exhibitions in Macau and other places. Premiere seeks damages for the five counts alleged in its complaint. The complaint was filed on 26 Feb 2013 and Judge William Duffey has been assigned the case.

Source: Titanic Lawsuit Launched To Sink Competing Enterprise(8 Mar 2013, Lexology.com)


Titanic Jewels Ending In Atlanta;Orlando Next Stop

Titanic
(Photo courtesy George Behe)

“Jewels of Titanic” collection in Atlanta ends on 6 Jan 2013. It then travels to Orlando’s Titanic: The Experience opening on 11 Jan 2013. The collection will be on display until 12 Mar 2013. For information about hours and to purchase tickets, go to titanictheexperience.com. Admission to the collection is complementary when purchasing ticket for Titanic: The Experience.

Source: Orlando Attractions Magazine (blog), ‘Jewels of Titanic’ to be on display at Titanic: The Experience in January,
29 Dec 2012

 


Monday Wrap; Why Did Stead Board Titanic and Jewelry Goes on Display

*Premiere Exhibitions has announced that most of the jewelry recovered from Titanic will go on a three city tour beginning this Friday in Atlanta. The Jewels of Titanic exhibit will be in the following cities and part of Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition:

Atlanta: 16 Nov 2012–6 Jan 2013

Orlando: 11 Jan 2013–12 Mar 2013

Las Vegas: 22 Mar 2013–31 May 2013

More info at rmstitanic.net.

*Henry Aldridge, the well known Titanic auctioneer, is putting up a rare letter from W.T.Stead for auction. Stead, who perished when Titanic sank in 1912, appeared to have predicted his own doom in a short story How the Mail Steamer went down in the Atlantic, by a survivor. He was also considered a psychic begging the question why he boarded Titanic. Aldridge hopes the letter will fetch £40,000. No word if a psychic has predicted the final bid on this letter.

Sources

1. Associated Press,Recovered Titanic Jewels To Be On Display, 12 Nov 2012
2. Mirror.co.uk, Why Did He Get On Board? Victim Of The Titanic Predicted Doomed Ship’s Fate But Went On Voyage, 12 Nov 2012


Titanic Artifacts Sold For $189 Million

Reuters reported yesterday that Premiere Exhibitions has found a buyer for the Titanic collection. The reported sale price is $189 million to a group that is not identified.

Artifacts recovered from the wreck of the Titanic are set to be sold for $189 million by Premier Exhibitions Inc, the company that holds the salvage rights to the doomed ocean liner. Premier’s shares jumped 18 percent on Tuesday, after it said in a regulatory filing it had signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell the artifacts for $189 million to an unnamed group of individuals. “(The buyers) are obviously a group of significant means because they have to have the resources to display and care for the artifacts and they have to be suitable for court approvals,” said Bill Vlahos, portfolio manager at hedge fund Odyssey Value Partners, which holds a stake in Premier. Premier officials said on a conference call Monday that the firm expects the deal to satisfy all of the court’s conditions.

It will interesting to learn who this group is. Three possibilities come to mind: 1)Government owned museums or an alliance of them; 2)Private group with very deep pockets that already own or control museums; 3)A company or consortium already in business and wants to keep the Titanic exhibitions alive.

Source: Reuters, Titanic Artifacts Collection To Be Sold For $189 Million, 16 Oct 2012

Major Decision: Federal Judge Awards Title To Titanic Artifacts

The long awaited decision of Federal Judge Beach regarding title to Titanic artifacts has been rendered. Judge Beach granted RMS Titanic, Inc. title to fine china, ship fittings, and other artifacts recovered from the ship by the company. The condition is that the artifacts be preserved so the court will have to approve sales.

Sources:

1. The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk Judge Awards Rights To Titanic Artifacts, 16 August 2011

2. Associated Press, Judge: Salvage Firm Has Title To Titanic Artifacts, 15 Aug 2011

 

Titanic Piece Up For Auction-Or Not?

Heritage Auction Gallery in Dallas, Texas is auctioning items from the Charles Pelligrino collection that includes an actual piece of Titanic. According to the press release:

“This section, however, was part of the “crackage” of the great boat, which sheared away from the vessel as it broke in half, and was recovered from the ocean floor some distance from the wreck. A semicircular depression in one corner of the piece is evidence of the force with which the ship cracked, sufficient to pop a rivet completely away from the hull. It has become essentially fossilized after the bio-absorption.”

On my discussion list I speculated that RMS Titanic Inc. (part of Premiere Exhibitions) likely would be upset and go to court. One of the list participants contacted Premiere and was told discussions were going on, and that the auction house would be making a correction.

So far nothing has been released just yet but the obvious question is how Pellegrino acquired this piece. We know Titanic split in two and that there is a debris field between them. Most (but not all) artifacts come from the debris field. Some artifacts were brought up before RMS Titanic Inc (RMSTI) filed for salvage rights (some by RMSTI and the French brought some up as well). So it is possible this piece came up before any salvage rights were awarded.

The press release is rather vague about where it was found. It implies it was found away from the debris field which might put it outside of RMSTI’s control. And we do not know who certified it as part of Titanic. It will be interesting to watch how this story unfolds.


Titanic Musings;The Great Expedition, Motley Fool Does Titanic, and a Memorial for Harold Lowe

*The Great Expedition to Titanic had to depart early due to a hurricane but got some real neat photos of the wreck. And it showed the wreck still is quite visible demonstrating the decay rate is slower than some speculated.

*Over in Belfast a developer in the Titanic Quarter went after a man who put down money for an apartment but could not complete the deal due to being unemployed. Three years ago Neil Rowe put down money for a £265,000 apartment. Alas the poor economy cost him a job and he cannot get a mortgage. The developer though wanted him to pay the balance and took him to court arguing although broke he still owed the money. In simple terms, they wanted to the court to recognize he owed the debt but the judge turned them down. They can still seek damages if they choose.

*Motley Fool did an analysis of Premiere Exhibitions (the owner of RMS Titanic, Inc.) in light of the recent salvage award. They write: “In sum, we’re not sure exactly what PRXI is worth at the moment, although we think its pretty safe to say its worth a lot more than its current price (paraphrasing Buffett, you don’t need a scale to tell a man’s fat!). Seems like an easy lay-up that will likely generate an outsized return over the next six months with very little risk (and better yet regardless of what the general market does as a whole). That said, its possible an investment today may require some patience but given Sellers commitment to monetizing his stake in the near-term, the significant and undisputed embedded value in the titanic assets and the progress to-date regarding the company’s turnaround efforts, our guess is that good things will happen sooner rather than later.”

*Fifth Officer Harold Lowe of Titanic does not get a lot of notice and Maddie Mathews, a Harold Lowe16 year-old schoolgirl, thought that was wrong after seeing Cameron’s Titanic. So she launched a campaign to get Lowe, who also hailed from Wales, to be properly commemorated. She wrote letters to local councils and historical associations asking for their assistance. The town of Barmouth, where Lowe spent much of his youth, is setting up a committee and invited Maddie to sit on it. The purpose of the committee will be to erect a memorial in time for the 2012 centenary. Descendants of Lowe have been contacted and delighted by the news. Good work Maddie!

*If you saw Cameron’s Titanic, then you saw William Murdoch depicted as a coward. This bothered many Titanic enthusiasts and historians saying it was inaccurate. Scott Murdoch, a nephew of William Murdoch, demanded an apology for how the movie depicted his uncle. He got one from Scott Neeson, vice president of 20th Century Fox, who said it (the movie) never intended to show William Murdoch as a coward and any implication was inadvertent. Scott Murdoch passed away in August and was in his 90’s. RIP

On Non-Titanic:

*Top Chef Boring continues on to Singapore. They had to make meals in the final challenge that could be freeze dried and eaten by astronauts. The highlight was Buzz Aldrin, a man who has walked on the moon. Anthony Bourdain was there and actually criticized Ripert’s (who he calls Ripper) criticism of Ed’s dish as too complicated. There are critics of Ripert who say he is too bland or too exacting in his standards. He is much better than that walking cliché Toby Young. Young must have had flash cards to memorize dozens of totally useless cliches to throw out during his tenure on Top Chef. Michelle Bernstein put him in his place and his totally weird comment about wine and hairy armpits (which caused Tom C. to put his head down on the table in disbelief) probably was the nail in the coffin. Ripert at least is constructive in his criticisms. Bourdain would make a great judge (and has done well as a guest judge in the past) but he is too busy to be there full time.

*Top Chef Masters? Former cheftestants are back! Yes we will bring back some of the favorites of past seasons who flamed out at the end or near the end. Oh please tell me this is just some sick publicity joke. We do not need a season of former cheftestants battling out to see who amongst them is SECOND TOP CHEF (which is what they are since they were beaten). Perhaps for fun they ought to allow failed cheftestants from Chopped or Next Food Network Star to compete as well. Hey maybe that bankrupt gal from that New Jersey show could toss a table over as well. 😉