Lost Photographs

[Anneliese Dixon]

A collection of photographs belonging to my family have gone missing, it is likely they have actually been stolen. My grandparents had these photographs stored in the attic, following my Grandmother's move into a nursing home they were put in the care of a trusted family member of hers.


The photographs were all taken between 1910 and 1925. Each one has a year and E. H. Dixon written on the back. I viewed these photos back in the early 1990's, when I was just a kid and first interested in Titanic. Many of the pictures are obviously of Olympic. It is possible that some photos were Titanic but as there was no other identification on the back nobody really knew for sure. When I saw them I didn't know that much about the differences between them, neither did my grandparents. The collection was private and as far as I am aware completely unpublished.


For years most of us had almost forgotten about the photos, until a recent conversation jogged our memories. My father suggested we should have them evaluated by people who might know what they're looking at. The relative who had them was moving to a new place when we asked for them and the storage box containing the photos appears to have vanished during the time she was moving.

I really don't want to get anyone excited about the prospect of any pictures being Titanic. My memory of the photos is a little faded but I'm 80% sure the photos I saw were Olympic. A lot of them were in very poor condition and my grandparents were advised to keep them protected and possibly not even handle them.

If they have indeed been stolen, what are the chances of them turning up online somewhere (to be sold)? We have of course involved the police but there really isn't anything they can do unless it's proved they were stolen.

It's a very sad and frustrating situation, if only we had taken a look at them sooner.

Anneliese Dixon

 

[Michael Cundiff]

My sympathy goes out to you Anneliese, for this, your first post on our wonderful forum. Hence,
some personal possesions must be kept in safe-deposit as with my past collection of rare Baseball cards and current ocean liner holdings. Will keep a sharp lookout from my crow's nest here on the west coast, USA ;-)

P.S. As you are obviouslly aware, we can't get enough of new images of our beloved liners.

Michael Cundiff
NV, USA

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>If they have indeed been stolen, what are the chances of them turning up online somewhere (to be sold)? <<

I can't speak to the odds but if the photos are taken to be something of value, it's not impossible. Unfortunately, some of the on line auction venues aren't inclined to ask a lot of questions about where some of what's being offered came from.

 

[Anneliese Dixon]

I've done some digging about the collection, I asked my great aunt and she remembers it very well. The collection originally belonged to her uncle, who took most of the photographs himself, a few others were given to him.

My great aunt clearly recalls that Olympic was a favourite subject, the uncle took many photos of her. She believes there were Titanic photos, but admits this might just be wishful thinking. My grandfather was quite sure there wasn't any, he seemed to think their uncle would have published those atleast.

It seems unlikely Titanic is part of the collection, but I have no doubt it still has historical value. Perhaps whoever has it now believe they'd found pictures of Titanic, not knowing it's really Olympic.

 

[IanMcD]

Sorry to hear about this, Anneliese. Any updates since 2011? I just joined this forum.

Stories like this always make me wonder what else is out there waiting to be discovered. I think its possible there are Titanic photos and items that have simply have been forgotten about over the years in someones attic or in a box in storage.