Best Titanic book for interior photographs

[Joao Goncalves]

Hi everyone,

I'm interested to add a new book to my collection and I would need some advice on wich you think are the best to buy.
I would need a book that focuses more on the interior spaces of the ship and who possessed some lesser known photographs of that part. I'm also interested to know when the various changes in Olympic occured and what has been modified.
I have the volumes 1 and 2 of the book "Titanic The Ship Magnificent" by Bruce Beveridge, Steve Hall et al.

Are this books good for what I want? :

- RMS Olympic — Titanic's Sister, by Mark Chirnside
- Olympic, Titanic, Brittanic: An Ilustrated History of the Olympic Class Ships, by Mark Chirnside
- RMS Olympic, by Brian Hawley


Thanks

 

[Adam Went]

Hi Joao,

If you don't have it already, I would recommend "Titanic: An Illustrated History" by Don Lynch, Ken Marschall and Robert Ballard.
Also, some people don't like this work but for specifics of the interior, you might look for something like "Anatomy of the Titanic" by Tom McCluskie.

Cheers,
Adam.

 

[James Garrett]

Joao:

All three of the books you listed look great based on the Amazon.com reviews (now I want them!).
"RMS Olympic - Titanic's Sister" at 320 pages with a lot of text and perhaps fewer illustrations that the other books is probably your best bet for finding answers about the changes to the Olympic over its career. Mark Chirnside's books get good review. Based on the reviews of all three books you probably cannot go wrong. The "RMS Olympic" by Brian Hawley at 128 pages is the smallest book and it may be more of set of pictures taken at different times during the Olympic's life than an exhaustive inventory of the different interior rooms on the ship.

I also have the two volume "Titanic - The Ship Magnificent". Since many of the photos in "Titanic - The Ship Magnificent", particularly volume 2, are actually from the Olympic (with the authors noting this when applicable) you already have a very good source. Volume 2 may be unrivaled in the number of photos of the various staterooms including a large number of the 1st class "period decor" staterooms.

Adam:
I would be hesitant to recommend "Anatomy of Titanic" (or the same author's larger book on the "Titanic and her Sisters, Olympic and Britannic") due to the number of errors. At the time that I bought those two books, I didn't know any better and at that time I was impressed by the number of photos that I had not seen before. However, if you already have "Titanic - The Ship Magnificent" there is no reason to get "Anatomy of Titanic". It is only about 160 pages long vs the combined 920 pages for "Titanic - The Ship Magnificent".

-Jim

 

[Joao Goncalves]

Many thanks for the suggestions. You helped me a lot.

Sorry if I speak bad. I struggle so that you can understand me.

Cheers,
Joao

 

[James Garrett]

Joao:
Your welcome.
No need to apologize, you were clear in your questions.
My only hope in understanding Portuguese would be to copy the text into Google's Translate app!

I did forget to mention that the other book Adam mentioned, "Titanic, The Illustrated History" is a very good general purpose book on the Titanic that probably should be in any ocean liner buff's library. Please be aware that it mentions very little if anything that is specific to RMS Olympic and that is does not emphasize technical specifications of the Titanic. I recall purchasing the hard cover of that book when it was first published and bringing it with me on a vacation to a beach house on Lake Michigan (a lake big enough to look like an ocean in that you cannot see the other side), and reading it with the sound of waves breaking on the beach.

-Jim

 

[Adam Went]

James:

Absolutely I wouldn't recommend "Anatomy Of The Titanic" for historical accuracy (hey, I like Charles Pellegrino's work, so make of that what you will), but if Joao was only seeking rarely seen photographs and plans of the interiors of Titanic and Olympic, then it would be a worthwhile addition to his collection. I also have the "Titanic & Her Sisters" book you mentioned, but it should also be mentioned that that book was co-authored by Michael Sharpe and Leo Marriott, as opposed to the solo effort in "Anatomy Of The Titanic".

Joao:

You're welcome. It's cool to have somebody on here from Portugal!

Cheers,
Adam.

 

[Edinlake]

The best for pictures are by far Titanic: The Ship Magnificent Volume 2. This book is over five hundred pages long and deals with every single deck, room, nook, space, and cranny on the ship. I am heavily amazed every time I open this book and see the vast amount of research and accuracy. Unlike any book I ever read. It includes hundreds and hundreds of photos that I have never seen including several dozen of the deluxe suites on B and C decks. Also it describes in detail what each room would have looked like in color to the hues of certain tiles in various public rooms, to what the furniture would have resembled in color. Mostly they are all of Olympic but the authors equate each picture to the suite they would have resembled on the Titanic. I cannot say enough great things about this book. Interestingly enough, this book is being used in the highly anticipated Titanic Honor and Glory video game which is recreating the ship and its interiors based on the best historical knowledge out there. Only thing they have changed was the color of tiles used in second and third class. The book has the second class entrances as being decorated in green and certain areas of third class in both green and red. But since no green tiles have yet been seen in the debris field whereas many red have been, all tile colors in second and third class have been changed to red. Here is the Facebook site to see the various works in color they have done so far. Just scroll through the albums in photos. https://www.facebook.com/TitanicHonorandGlory

Other good ones are Anatomy of the Titanic but it really pales in comparison to TSMV2. Less than half the length, it doesn't describe enough in detail that the above said indulges in.

For restoration purposes I would suggest Titanic in Photographs. All the photos in this book are uniquely all the ones known of Titanic herself and are restored to the greatest quality that has yet been brought to popular attention.

 

[Joao Goncalves]

Thanks for the reply Edinlake.

As I mentioned above, I already have the TTSM: Volume 2 and I completely agree with what you said. Regarding the Titanic Honor and Glory videogame, I'm already following the game for a long time (since the time it was still called Titanic Lost in the Darkness) and is certainly something I'm waiting with great enthusiasm. I am thinking of adding the Anatomy of the Titanic as it is a book quite mentioned here as well as the Titanic in Photographs.

 

[Jonathan Granato]

Is this the book you are referring to?

Roberts Rinehart Pub, 1997