Tag Archives: Titanic

Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Rare Titanic Deck Chair Fetches $149,000 At Auction

Nantucket Titanic Deck Chair Photo: Henry Aldridge & Son
Nantucket Titanic Deck Chair
Photo: Henry Aldridge & Son

A rare Titanic deck chair was recently auctioned by Henry Aldridge & Son for the princely sum of £100,000, The chair was one of six or seven that were found in the Atlantic by ships sent out to retrieve bodies from Titanic. This particular one originally belonged to Captain Julien Lemarteleur. Due to its fragility, the anonymous seller kept it as a display piece in a large window with a sea view.

The name of the buyer was not released but was from the U.K.

Source:Titanic chair sells for £100k (18 April 2015, Daily Mail)


Titanic

Titanic Chronology:Carpathia Arrives on 18 April 1912

U.S. Library of Congress,Bain Collection, Control #ggb2004010347 Public Domain
U.S. Library of Congress,Bain Collection, Control #ggb2004010347
Public Domain

It had been a long three days since Titanic sank when Carpathia arrived bearing Titanic’s survivors. What had been first optimistic news turned grim after the miscommunication had been sorted out. Titanic had sunk and 1500 had perished out in the cold North Atlantic. News as to who exactly had survived was not fully known as Carpathia had kept a media blackout during its journey to New York. There was a reporter on board but had to keep his notes secret in a cigar box lined with champagne corks. He would toss it towards a Hearst editor in a tugboat in New York harbor where it would be raced for a special evening edition of New York World. 50 tugboats full of reporters yelled at the ship through megaphones offering money for eyewitness accounts. Carpathia first stopped at Pier 59, the White Star Line pier and offloaded Titanic’s lifeboats. They were all that were left of the ship aside from the flotsam and jetsam that would be found later in the Atlantic. Then Carpathia proceeded to Pier 54 and the Titanic survivors disembarked. It was only then it was truly known who did survive and who did not.

Pier 54, 2012 where Carpathia docked to unload Titanic survivors, Photo: Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)
Pier 54, 2012 where Carpathia docked to unload Titanic survivors,
Photo: Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)

Pier 54 is now part of Chelsea Piers and is located at Little West 12th Street and the Hudson River (in the Meatpacking District and Greenwich Village area). It is now part of the Hudson River Park. It is now used mostly for concerts, exhibits, and free movies. Several television shows have used the Chelsea piers as a backdrop for  television shows (Law & Order, Spin City, The Apprentice). There is a desire to convert it into a nautical museum though that has yet to come to fruition. There is also a plan to redevelop Pier 54’s original style pier for mixed use space.


Titanic

Titanic Chronology: 17 April 1912:The Grim Task of Collecting Bodies

CS Mackay Bennett (circa 1884) Artist Unknown Public Domain
CS Mackay Bennett (circa 1884)
Artist Unknown
Public Domain

With confirmation that Titanic sank with great loss of life, the next task was to collect bodies floating in the Atlantic. The cable ship Mackay Bennett was the first ship hired by White Star (others would be employed as well)to retrieve bodies. The ship emptied itself of its normal stores in Halifax, Nova Scotia and brought aboard supplies for its new mission:

  • Embalming supplies and coffins (100)
  • Chief embalmer of John Snow & Co.,John R. Snow Jr.
  • 100 tons of ice to store the bodies
  • Canon Kenneth Hind of All Saints Cathedral, Halifax

Mackay Bennett left Halifax at 12:28 pm on 17 April 1912. Due to heavy fog and rough sears it would take four days to reach where Titanic sank. They began recovery at 0600 on 20 April. Bodies were manually recovered by skiffs and brought back to the ship. They recovered 51 bodies but realized they did not have enough embalming supplies on hand. Since the laws at the time required bodies to be embalmed before unloading from ships docking in a Canadian port, they followed a general procedure:

  • First class passengers were embalmed and placed in coffins
  • Second class passengers were embalmed but wrapped in canvas
  • Third class passengers were buried at sea

Bodies that were brought back were either transported by relatives to their final resting place or interred in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

MacHighway - Web Hosting for Mac Users, by Mac Users, Since 1997

Titanic

The Sad Parting

The Sad Parting From Story of the Wreck of the Titanic;Marshall Everett;1912 Artist Unknown Public Domain
The Sad Parting
Illustration from Story of the Wreck of the Titanic(1912,Marshall Everett)
Artist Unknown
Public Domain

The Daily Mail went through its archives in 2012 and reprinted the coverage of Titanic’s sinking. The report on Tuesday 16 April 1912 related the ship had struck an iceberg, had sunk, but no lives lost. The following day on 17 April the full horrible truth had been learned. The ship had sunk but 1500 people had died which included some very prominent people. Questions are raised about not enough lifeboats for all and out dated rules. The shift in mood is dramatic to read and I encourage you to take a look. You can read the article here.


Titanic

Titanic Sunk

Front Page, New York Herald, 15 April 1912 Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress,www.loc.gov)
Front Page, New York Herald, 15 April 1912
Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress,www.loc.gov)

23:40 (11:40 p.m.) Lookouts Fleet and Lee sight iceberg. Bell rung and call to bridge. Murdoch orders helm hard a-starboard and engines reversed. Starboard side scraped by iceberg for 300 feet puncturing hull in various places. Water fills forward compartments.

1200 (12:00 a.m.) Thomas Andrews tells Captain Smith ship is sinking estimating ship can stay afloat estimating no more than 2 hours. Lifeboats are lowered by hand, evacuation of passengers begins. Wireless is used to alert nearby ships. RMS Carpathia responds and begins moving towards Titanic.

02:20 (2:20 a.m.) Titanic sinks at 2:20 a.m.with over 1,500 lives lost.

0400 (4:00 a.m.) RMS Carpathia arrives and rescues approximately 710 from lifeboats. Captain Rostron of Carpathia said the area was an ice field with at least 20 large bergs measuring up to 200 feet in height and numerous smaller bergs.

18 April 1912 0930 (9:30 a.m.) RMS Carpathia docks at New York Pier 54. Prior to that it offloaded the only remaining piece of Titanic afloat, the lifeboats. Due to confusing communications, the initial reports were more promising about the the severity of the tragedy. The confusion was caused by mixed up bits of wireless communication resulting in erroneous reports of Titanic being towed to New York and less lives lost. By the time Carpathia arrived in New York, everyone knew that over 1,500 had died in the tragedy.


Titanic

Just In Time For Titanic Anniversary:Letter Up For Auction Tells Family To Pay For Remains

The UK Daily Mail is reporting a letter up for auction at Henry Aldridge & Son shows the callous indifference of White Star to grieving families. The letter, sent to Christopher Moody–the brother of Titanic officer James Moody–informs that the can arrange transport of his remains but they will need a £20 deposit for “for any expenses and land charges….” The letter also points out that once he took charge of the body, he would be responsible for all expenses after that.

1) Did White Star Attempt To Commit Fraud?

The Daily Mail says that White Star already knew that James Moody’s remains had not been found as they had been catalogued. Now you can look at this one of two ways:

1)The body had been marked as recovered or they had been told it had been recovered;

2)They were making plans in case it was found.

I doubt White Star was going to commit fraud here (hitting up grieving family members for money when there was no body likely would get some legal notice). Rather either it was miscommunication about his remains or they were simply being proactive in case of recovery. The body was never recovered so money was ever paid to White Star by Christopher Moody.

2)Was White Star Charging To Transport The Body?

It seems an odd position for White Star to take. Why charge for bringing the body of 6th officer James Moody home to England for burial? Here is what the letter actually say on this point:

Should you after further consideration desire the remains of your Brother to be returned will you kindly telegraph us in the morning at the same time sending us a deposit of £20 for any expenses and land charges on the other Side and we will at once cable New York asking then to arrange this if practicable.

A reasonable interpretation of this paragraph is they are not charging to transport the body to England but “expenses and land charges on the other Side….” That would likely mean whatever fees imposed to transport the body away from the ship. They could not store the body on the ship, it would need to go somewhere right away unless Christopher was there to meet the ship when it docked. So they asked him to deposit money so they could make those arrangements on his behalf.

Now I am not saying White Star ought not to have paid those fees. I think it would have been the right thing to do. This was poor public relations on their part and just adds to the overall impression that White Star was callous and cheap. This was not uncommon then and still a sore issue today after a major disaster at sea or on land. Who pays for the removal, transport, and storage of bodies awaiting final disposition? Families are often shocked when, after the loss of a loved on in a terrible disaster,they get a bill for transport or storage of their loved ones remains. Insurance may cover some, all, or none of it. White Star believed its duty was to transport the remains but not to pay for carriage and storage fees beyond the ship.

That of course is less lurid than saying White Star charged relatives to transit remains across the ocean. It makes for a great headline but not quite the truth.

Source: Amazing Letter Reveals For The First Time How Titanic Owners Demanded Huge Sums From Grieving Families To Be Reunited With Bodies Of Ship’s Crew(14 April 2015,Daily Mail)

Additional Sources

1. James Paul Moody Encyclopedia Titanica

2. A memorial plaque for James Moody is at Church of St. Martin, Scarborough. You can read a write-up at Encyclopedia Titanica or you can view a photo of it here (Flickr).

MacHighway - Web Hosting for Mac Users, by Mac Users, Since 1997

Titanic

Titanic Chronology: 1 April – 12 April 1912

Poster Advertising Vinolia Otto Soap for Titanic Image:Public Domain
Poster Advertising Vinolia Otto Soap for Titanic
Image:Public Domain

1 April-Titanic’s sea trials postponed by bad weather.
2 April- 0600: Sea trials begin. Fire in boiler room six coal hold.
2000 (8.00 p.m.): Trials completed; Titanic returns to Southampton.
4 April-Titanic berths at Southampton around midnight.
10 April-Titanic departs Southampton at 12 noon. While departing,suction from propellers causes New York to break moorings.Collision is averted by tugs and extra speed from Titanic.
17:30 (5:30 p.m.): Arrival at Cherbourg, France. 274 passengers board including John Jacob Astor.22 passengers disembark.
20:30 (8:30 p.m.): Departs Cherbourg for Queenstown,(Cobh), Ireland.
11 April-11:30 (11:30 a.m.) Titanic arrives in Queenstown. 120 passengers board. Among those who depart Titanic is Francis Brown
(later Father Brown, SJ) with his camera and photos of life aboard ship.
13:30 (1:30 p.m.). Titanic departs Queenstown bound for New York with 2,206 passengers and crew.
12 April-Titanic travels 326 miles.


Titanic

Titanic News: Premier Exhibitions Merges With Dinoking; Residents Try Saving Titanic Lighthouse

1. It was announced just before the Easter holiday that Premier Exhibitions is merging with Dinoking, a Canadian company that produces the “Dinosaurs Unearthed” exhibit. Premier will acquire all outstanding shares and its principal shareholder Daoping Bao will take over as president of the combined company. The deal is subject to shareholder approval in August. According to terms of the deal, Dinoking will become a subsidiary with 47 percent of the voting stock. Now we understand why there was a reverse stock split.
Source: Merger On Deck For Titanic Exhibitor Connected To Hopcat Owner Mark Sellers(6 April 2015, Mlive.com)

St John's Point Lighthouse, St John's Point, County Down, Northern Ireland(October 2009) Photo:Ardfern(Wikimedia)
St John’s Point Lighthouse, St John’s Point, County Down, Northern Ireland(October 2009)
Photo:Ardfern(Wikimedia)

2 Folks who live in Killough in Northern Ireland are not happy with plans to modernize the lighthouse at St John’s Point. The lighthouse uses a 6 ton lamp with mercury to light the way for seafarers but authorities want to replace it with an LED lamp. Though the light itself is automatic, its mercury is a cause for a concern. So it must go even though it poses no harm to anyone since the light is atop the lighthouse and the only people who might be at risk would be the occasional person doing routine maintenance. Locals do not want an ugly LED lamp in the lighthouse that once saw Titanic pass by. Ellen Peter says: “If that were to go, all you would have would be a thing like a bicycle light or an airport landing light.”
Source: Campaign To Save Titanic’s Guiding Light(5 Apr 2015,Sky News)

MacHighway - Web Hosting for Mac Users, by Mac Users, Since 1997

Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Titanic Hotel To Open Doors To All On 15 April

Photo:public domain
Photo:public domain

30 James Street Hotel, the former home of White Star Line offices in Liverpool (formerly known as Albion House), will open its doors to everyone on 15 April. All 63 rooms will be opened up so that people can tour the entire hotel. Additionally those who proven connections will be allowed to stay overnight–for free.

To earn that special treat, you have to submit stories that prove the connection. And the most interesting will get a free overnight stay for two and an invite to the gala dinner. Lawrence Kenwright, one of the owners told the Liverpool Echo:

We want these people to share it and enjoy it with us and that is why we’re doing this. The occasion will be extra special too because 15 April will mark the 103rd anniversary or the Titanic disaster and with Liverpool having a rich maritime history, we’re extending the offer to those who have worked in shipping or on Liverpool’s docks. We want to hear the best stories and we’re looking at putting them into a commemorative book about the building too.

Source: 30 James Street Hotel To Open Doors To Mark Titanic Anniversary(2 April 2015, Liverpool Echo)

MacHighway - Web Hosting for Mac Users, by Mac Users, Since 1997