Our Policy
To date, we have decided not to include artefacts from the Titanic Wreck Site and Debris Field for ethical reasons. Our strategic partner Dr Robert Ballard who discovered RMS Titanic's wreck in 1985 shares this view and for this reason artefacts salvaged from Titanic do not currently form part of our exhibition. If an opportunity arose to further preserve or safeguard artefacts, this would be considered on a case by case basis.
The Titanic Experience does contain many other original artefacts some of which are detailed below, along with other fascinating items of cultural and historical interest.
H&W Gates and Time Clock
Original 19th Century Harland & Wolff gates are on display in Boomtown Belfast, along with a magnificent Time Clock from the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices.
Promotional Brochure
A rare Olympic and Titanic promotional brochure is on display in The Fit Out.
White Star China
Original White Star tableware is on display, and you can see how different types of china and tableware were supplied for each class of passenger.
First class passengers were provided with fine bone china, second class passengers dined from blue and white delft china bearing the White Star logo and third class tableware was white with the white star red logo.
Dr Simpson Letter
Last Luncheon Menu
The last lunch menu that First Class passengers enjoyed on the day the ship struck an iceberg is currently on display in The Maiden Voyage.
The rare artefact, believed to have been bought for $122,000 (€94,300), has been generously loaned to Titanic Belfast by Rupert Hunt, owner of Spareroom.com who bought it from the Dodge family, who had it in their possession since the ship went down.
The luncheon menu belonged to passenger Ruth Dodge, the wife of Dr Washington Dodge. On its reverse, a hand-written note from a ship steward, who knew the family, reads, "With compliments & best wishes from Frederic Dent Ray, 56 Palmer Park, Reading, Berks.”
Esther & Eva Hart Letter
The last letter ever to be written on board Titanic, which sold at auction for a world record sum of £119,000, is now on display at Titanic Belfast.
The historic artefact was written by Essex-born Esther Hart and her seven-year-old daughter Eva, who both survived the ship’s sinking, just eight hours before the ship hit an iceberg and sank in April 1912 but it was never sent. Intended for her mother in Chadwell Heath, the letter only survived because it was in the pocket of her husband’s coat which he had given her to keep warm. He was one of over 1,500 people to die in the disaster.
The letter has been loaned to us by Scottish businessman Garreth Wood and his wife Nicola, long-time Titanic enthusiasts who recently bought it from the auction buyer.
Titanic Deck Chair
An original deck chair from Titanic, recovered from the surface by the Mackay-Bennett, the first of four ships chartered by the White Star Line to search for bodies after the sinking. Bearing the distinctive insignia of the White Star Line on the headrest, and a brass nametag holder on the rear, this deck chair is one of only six known to have survived.
Lord Pirrie's Watch
The 18ct. gold pocket watch that was the personal property of Lord William James Alexander Pirrie, Chairman of Harland and Wolff, is on display in the Titanic Experience Launch gallery.
Pirrie had a reputation for overseeing all elements of construction and it was together with J. Bruce Ismay that he conceived the idea of the Olympic Class of liners.
The watch is fully hallmarked 1890 and is engraved 'W.J.A. Pirrie'. It is quite likely that Lord Pirrie was wearing it during the period of Titanic's construction, possibly at the famous meeting of summer 1907 at Downshire House in Belgravia where the plans for Olympic, Titanic and Britannic were first formulated, as well being likely that Pirrie wore the watch at Titanic's launch.
The watch carries a watchmaker's stamp for Robert Neill of Belfast, a very well respected Jeweller and watchmaker, together with the name of the retailer James Morrison.
Launch Day Tickets
RMS Titanic VIP Launch Ticket
An extremely rare VIP ticket for the launch of RMS Titanic which still has its perforated stub is on display in the Launch gallery in the Titanic Experience. The recipient of this ticket no. 1342, Captain Alexander Matier, was unable to attend the launch. According to Henry Aldridge & Sons it is said to be one of the most desirable launch tickets and is believed to be the only one of this calibre known.
RMS Titanic VIP Launch Ticket Stub
This ticket stub, No. 116, was issued to Charlotte Brennan, a Harland and Wolff employee. The reverse of the stub contains shorthand manuscript notes (presumably added by Brennan) with details of the disaster. Memorabilia relating to the launch is very unusual but it is exceptionally rare to offer a ticket stub that can be directly traced to the individual who attended the launch with an intimate connection to Titanic’s construction.
Wallace Hartley Violin and Letters
The world-famous violin belonging to Titanic’s hero musician, Wallace Hartley, a gift from his fiancée Maria Robinson. The violin is German, circa 1880, with a tail plate bearing a silver hallmark Chester, 1910, engraved with the words: ‘For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria’.
As one of the rarest and most iconic objects of the 20th century, this violin bears testimony to the courage and spirit of the bandsmen who brought hope and comfort until the very end.
Also on display are two personal letters to Hartley, one written by his parents the day before Titanic’s departure and the other a two-page letter from Wallace Hartley’s friend, a fellow musician.
Original Glass Plate Photographs of Titanic’s Launch
A previously unknown series of five very rare photographs of Titanic’s launch in Belfast on 31st May 1911. These images were taken by a local businessman and capture the hull moving down the slipways, the great gantry and launch platform.
Titanic LifeJacket
An original Fosbery lifejacket. Only twelve lifejackets remain in the world, out of a total of over 3,500 that were onboard the ship.
This extremely rare artefact is manufactured from linen and cork and was recovered from the wreck site by the Mackay-Bennett, the first of four ships chartered by the White Star Line to search for bodies after the sinking. No records exist of the original wearer of this lifejacket.
Binocular Box Key
These keys belonged to Second Officer David Blair who was reassigned just before Titanic’s maiden voyage. Due to his hasty departure, he inadvertently kept the keys in his pocket, one of which belonged to the binocular box.
Lookout Fred Fleet, who survived, told the official inquiry that if they had binoculars, they would have seen the iceberg sooner. When asked how much sooner, Fleet replied: ‘Enough to get out of the way.’
Other Artefacts Include
Plan of First Class accommodation, belonging to the Straus Party
An original First Class accommodation plan issued exclusively to First Class passengers to help them navigate the luxury liner. This one belonged to Ellen Bird, the personal maid to Ida Straus, whose husband Isidor owned Macy’s department store in New York.
Malcolm Joakim Johnson - Photograph, Pocketwatch and Manifest Ticket
A unique, first-generation studio photograph of Third Class passenger Malcolm Johnson. Originally from Sweden, Johnson lived in Minneapolis and owned a successful construction business. He travelled back to Sweden to buy his childhood home but failed, so he decided to return to America. He was scheduled to travel on the White Star liner Adriatic, but was transferred to Titanic at the last minute due to the coal strike of April 1912.
Sadly he did not survive the sinking, but his personal pocket watch did, showing the hands of the corroded Omega frozen in time at 1.37am. It is on display along with a rare manifest ticket belonging to Johnson stamped 10th April 1912.
Wallace Hartley Letters
A personal letter written by Wallace Hartley's parents the day before Titanic’s departure is displayed, along with a two-page letter from Hartley’s friend and fellow musician.
Sheepskin coat, belonging to Mabel Bennett
A sheepskin coat was worn by Mabel Bennett who was a stewardess on Titanic. During the rescue she was in her nightdress and this coat was the first garment she grabbed for warmth.
Walking cane, belonging to Ella White
A black-enameled walking cane, complete with electric light installed at the head, which belonged to First Class passenger Ella White, a wealthy and eccentric widow.
Silver hip flask, belonging to Helen Churchill Candee
A silver hip flask belonged to 53-year-old author Helen Churchill Candee. Having entrusted it to her First Class companion, Edward Kent, who was sadly lost during the sinking, the hip flask eventiually made it's way back to Candee through the Churchill family motto engraved on the flask: ‘Faithful, but Unfortunate’.
Letter written by Reverend John Harper to the Mother Superior
A letter written onboard Titanic by the Reverend who went down with the ocean liner while preaching until the very end, John Harper.
The Titanic Experience
The Titanic Experience is the world’s most authentic retelling of the iconic story.
The self-guided tour extends over nine interactive galleries where you discover the sights, sounds, smells and stories of the ship, as well as the people and city that made her.
