Looking at collectables and memorabilia associated with this magnificent ship.
‘The largest vessel afloat’, ‘the most luxurious ship in the world, ‘unsinkable’: for decades these words have been uttered about RMS Titanic, the most famous passenger ship of all time. We take a look at collectables and memorabilia associated with this magnificent ship.
Constructed at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Titanic was, at the time of her maiden voyage, the largest vessel afloat. She departed the White Star Dock in Southampton on 10 April 1912, and just five days later, at 2.20am, she would begin her descent to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Titanic’s story begins with J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star Line and president of the International Mercantile Marine Company, and Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland & Wolff. Together they dreamt of a new class of ship to rival Cunard Line’s new luxury liner, the Lusitania.
The design of the Olympic class fell to Thomas Andrews, the managing director of Harland & Wolff’s design department, along with Lord Pirrie, his nephew Edward Wilding and Alexander M. Carlisle, Harland & Wolff’s chief navel architect.
Titanic was the second of White Star Line’s Olympic Class liners, the others being Olympic and Britannic, and her figures are quite astounding: she had an overall length of 882ft 9in and a gross tonnage of 46,328. Steam for her huge engines was generated by 29 boilers, of which 24 were double-ended, fed by 159 furnaces.
She was the ultimate in luxury. On her 11 decks – of which eight were designed for passenger accommodation, public rooms, dining and promenading – there were reading and writing rooms, multiple restaurants and dining rooms, as well as a hospital, gymnasium, a swimming pool and a library.
After her fatal collision with an iceberg in the early hours of 15 April 1912, she was to remain undiscovered at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean for 73 years. It wasn’t until September 1985 that her wreck was discovered by Dr Robert Ballard of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
THE MEMORY LIVES ON
Memorabilia from Titanic has been sold through auctions for many years. Lots that have gone under the hammer include an E Deck key, which sold for £60,000; an extremely rare launch ticket that sold for £33,000; an Onboard Menu that reached £27,000; and a souvenir pin cushion bought onboard the Titanic that made £19,000.
Many auction houses have also sold Titanic memorabilia over the years, including big names such as Special Auction Services and Vectis.
Special Auction Services sold three Titanic-related postcards for £65, against an estimate of £40-60. In unused condition the postcards featured Titanic in the ocean along with two song cards, ‘Nearer My God to Thee’, each showing the Titanic sinking.
Items sold by Mellors & Kirk include a collection of over 340 covers and postcards signed by survivors of the disaster. It sold for £5,000 against an estimate of £500-1,000 in September 2009. Mellors & Kirk sold a vintage silver print, signed in white ‘Beken & Son Cowes’ and inscribed ‘SS Titanic’. It sold for £360 against an estimate of £100-150.
Fieldings put an early 20th century Titanic memorial
postcard, depicting Capt Smith and wireless operator John Phillips either side of the ship, postmark for May 28th 1912, under the hammer. It sold for £120 against an estimate of £30-40.
During 2020 there was quite the flurry of Titanic themed items at Vectis. A large scale model with a wooden hull, wooden planking to the deck and fitted with cast metal propellers sold for £120; a Tucher & Walther large tinplate model with working clockwork motor reached a noteable £90.
FOR YOUR COLLECTION
If you can’t stretch to the high figures that Titanic memorabilia commands, there are many collectables on the market that you can buy.
If you’re a modeller there are a number of kits that are available. These include Academy’s 1/400 Centenary Edition, priced at £159.99 (ref no 14226). It features stunning box art, which could quite easily pass for a painting if mounted on a wall.
Revell has released two verions of RMS Titanic, one in 1/700 scale (ref 80-5498) and the other at 1/570 (ref 850445). Both can be found easily enough online. Airfix currently has a beautiful 1/400 scale gift set version (ref A50146A) on its website for £59.99.
If you prefer something cuddlier there are a selection of Titanic-related teddy bears that have been released over the years. One such collectable, and limited to just 250 pieces worldwide, was Hermann Spielwaren’s Titanic Memorial Teddy Bear, which wears the uniform of Captain Edward John Smith.
Another favourite was Steiff’s Titanic Centenary Commemorative Bear, which measured 14in tall. It was a limited edition of 1,912 (do you see what they did there!) pieces when released back in 2012.
Steiff have produced several other commemorative bears including Polar the Titanic Bear, an interpretation of the teddy bear that accompanied its owners, Daisy Spedden and her husband, Frederic, aboard the Titanic; and a bear based on the black ‘mourning’ bear that Steiff originally released in 1912. Again just 1,912 pieces were made so getting your hands on one today might prove a challenge.
If you want to find out more about the history and build of Titanic, Haynes published a back catalogue of books about her. These include Titanic: The Unfolding Story as told by Richard Havers and Carol King, which tells the Titanic story through contemporary photographs and newspaper articles from the Daily Mirror archive.
There is also, of course, one of Haynes’ famous Owners’ Workshop Manuals about her, which is a fascinating read in itself!