RMS Titanic in 50 Objects

by Bruce Beveridge, Steve Hall, Cathy Akers-Jordan (Foreword)

The story of the worldʼs most famous liner, told through a fascinating selection of important objects

Showcasing a mixture of original artefacts, authentic reproductions, and items from Titanic ’s sister ship Olympic, Titanic authorities Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall have worked closely with White Star Memories to skillfully retell the story of Titanic in 50 objects. Poignant original artefacts include letters mailed from the ship; the butcher’s gold pocket watch; violinist Wallace Hartley’s sheet music, recovered with his body; carpenters’ tools used during construction; Turkish Bath wall tiles; and even a piece of coal from the wreck site.

Reproductions and treasures from Olympic include a full-scale Grand Staircase ‘Honour & Glory’ clock; a Bronze Grand Staircase cherub; dining chairs; tables; washstands; light fixtures; wood fittings; bedspreads; uniforms; and much more besides. Also with fascinating text alongside carefully chosen archive images, this beautiful book brings the story of Titanic vividly to life.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2023

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Advertisements, blueprints, tools, screws, spa tiles, uniform hats, deck chairs, light fixtures, lifeboats and lots and lots of photographs of the crew fill this book of all the stuff and staff that filled this luxurious ocean liner.

This book does an excellent job getting into the technicals and logistics of the building and running of Titanic, as well as showing just how Edwardian the interior decoration was with its emphasis on turn-of-the-century maximalism.

Tellingly, the book becomes heavier on text once it gets to the actual sinking, reproducing the text of all the frantic morse code sent out as she sank, and then we get photographs of the lifeboats and Calparthia, followed by pictures of the surviving letters, memos and reports from those who investigated how this could have happened.

There's very little on the passengers, but we get an excellent picture of what he ship would have been like that fateful morning when she was at the dock, ready to go, newly finished and freshly furnished.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures of actual Titanic artifacts and their stories were fascinating. However, I am a purist and I don't think the book should claim 50 objects of Titanic when most came from the Olympic and one from the 1997 movie.

[Carol-Ann Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at a very famous subject from a new angle

[Dann · Rating 3 out of 5]

RMS Titanic in 50 Objects is a creative telling of the illustrious history of this tragic luxury liner. As the title suggests, authors Bruce Beveridge and Steve Hall use 50 objects (with varying degrees of connect to the Titanic) to chronical the ship’s construction, maiden voyage and sinking, and the legacy that it left. Due to the controversy over the recovered artifacts from the wreck site, most of the objects are not directly tied to the actual Titanic but are rather from other White Star ships of the era, replicas, or the personal effects of survivors (which kind of feels like a cheat at times). As a result the writing meanders at times and is a bit contrived in how it uses the objects to segue into the discussion topics and relating them to the larger narrative. However, the book’s unique structure allows Beveridge and Hall to use some rather unusual objects and include some interesting trivia and little known facts that aren’t often talked about in Titanic retrospectives. While RMS Titanic in 50 Objects takes a fresh and creative approach to the material, it’s not always successful and be a little rote and even a bit confusing in parts.