Tile colour in 3rd class open space

[Dan Cherry]

Here's a question for the technically-minded Titanic researchers:

Which tile colour pattern was used for the third class open space flooring under the forward well deck,

At the stern third class areas, the wreck reveals the tiles were the black and white version. Recovered tiles indicate red and grey were also used throughout the ship. Was the third class open area one of those places? I am building this room on my Titanic model and wished to make it as accurate as possible...

Thanks

 

[Nigel Bryant]

Hi Dan!

I was always under the impression that this area was covered in the red tiles, though I don't have any proof to back this statement up. I hope someone can give you a more definitive answer.

Another detail that you might not have picked on is surrounding hatchways, no, 2 & 3, there was some sort of bostwick gate that surrounded each of the shaft ways. These gates can be seen in the Discovery docomentary Inside the Titanic.

Good luck with the model! Is this the same model that you decided to redo because of your disliking of the deck colour?

All the best,

Nigel

 

[Dan Cherry]

Nigel,
thanks! I've been in dialogue with some off the board as well over the tile matter and am looking at a couple of possibilities. Like you, I've heard through the years several possible coverings, but no real source material to back it up.
And, actually, I am 'redoing' all my stuff on a second model....
Stay tuned - methinks you will like what I am doing with it...

 

[Brian R Peterson]

Hi Dan,

Its a late post but you may find it useful nonetheless.

Since all my research seems to have the Third Class Smoke and General Rooms both tiled with black and white, it would be a safe bet that the Third Class Open Room under the Well Deck would be as well.

Best Regards,

Brian

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Brian,

I have a color period illustration from the 1920's which show the 3rd class smoke room with green tiles.

Although the exact tile is not shown, some 1911 illustrations would suggest that the general room had that same tile in red. I believe as per the wreck, we know that the staircase entrance was the black and white tile.

Daniel.

 

[Dan Cherry]

Brian,
I've seen similar items that Daniel is talking about, and concur that the tiles in the general room were probably the red/grey variety as retrieved from the debris field. There's no argument that the staircase entrance tiles were the black and white variety, as the wreck clearly shows existing flooring still attached to the vestibule.

There's still several possibilities as to what the forward open space flooring was under the well deck. Until something more concrete surfaces, I hestitate to 'guess' and have it wrong. We may never know for sure, though...

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Scott Dalling]

I have recently obtained two types of red and white tiles used on Olympic from a gentleman who originally got them from the 2004 auction in Haltwhistle. I am trying to find information on where these tiles were originally located on Olympic and Titanic. It is my understanding that they were used in second and third class. Which rooms/areas were red and white tiles used on Olympic and Titanic? I read in a previous post that they might have been used in the third class general room. Were these tiles ever used in third class cabins? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Scott,

The tiles as you show them, without the extra border would indicate that they came from either 2nd or 3rd class cabins. You may have seen the same tiles as you posted, with an extra border around them, these usually came from public rooms, where as without the borders the tiles came from cabins.

Daniel.

 

[Scott Dalling]

Daniel,

Thank you for the helpful information about the tiles.

Best regards,

Scott

 

[Parks Stephenson]

I have reason to believe, based on photos of earlier WSL/H&W ships and the dive images from Britannic, that the red-and-white tiles were also used in the Officers' Quarters and wheelhouse. I used them in my CG rendition of the Marconi Room.

In both Titanic and Britannic wrecks, I see green-and-white versions of that same pattern.

Parks

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

Parks,

Were basically all floor surfaces in the officers' quarters layed with this tile (corridor and officer cabins) or was it restricted to the cabins, and wheelhouse, and the corridor was perhaps exposed litosilo or another tile pattern?

Daniel.

 

[Parks Stephenson]

Daniel,

I can't answer your question with absolute certainty. I know that Britannic's wheelhouse was covered in the red-and-white fleur-de-lis pattern. I also know that Olympic's Marconi Room was covered in the same pattern, thanks to a 1911 photo, but don't know the colour. I know that the corridors of the Baltic's and Adriatic's OQ were covered in a tile pattern that may be the fleur-de-lis pattern, or something similar (hard to tell by the angle), but definitely not exposed Litosilo.

I don't know about the cabins. They may even have been covered with another pattern entirely.

Parks

 

[Lajos Berínyi]

Hi all!

My idea: The Olympic's rooms included green/grey tiles. They are survived too. Just see the page: http://www.luxurylinerrow.com Search for the "Olympic tile".
But if in another site: http://www.wslmf.org/artifacts/artifacts3.html you click the link in the subscribe, that shows a nice underwater picture of the 3rd class open space of the Titanic wreck.
Unfortunately, I can't see so clear, what colour's got that.

 

[Lajos Berínyi]

I'm sorry for all!

I had a mistake. That place aren't the 3rd class open space. That's the 3rd class general room entrance under the poop deck.

 

[Charlotte Langley]

Forgive me if this question was answered already, but I'm curious about another black and white tile I saw at the Titanic exhibit in Denver. Its label said it was "third class" and I can't find any photos that show this kind of tile. It's got a kind of curved-edge black diamond shape in the center of a white circle, with black again outside the circle. Does anyone know what the heck I'm talking about here? I would love to know where exactly that type of tile would have been used, and ESPECIALLY would be thrilled if someone could direct me to a photo of that type of flooring....

 

[Matthew DeWinkeleer]

Hi Charlotte,

I just visited the exhibit in Hartford and saw the tile. Give me your email address and I can send you a picture I took of it (I won't post it here for any copyright issues, but I will possibly post a rendering I'll be creating of it when I get home)

The caption below it said it was used in third class bathrooms. It was ceramic, so I'd assume it was intended to get wet often.

Sincerely,

Matthew DeWinkeleer

 

[Matthew DeWinkeleer]

Here's a quick rendering of the tile I saw and that Charlotte is talking about, except for the smaller mini tiles that actually made up the tile. I made it with Google Sketch Up for my Titanic models:

Third Class Bath Tile

So combine that color and shape with this style/texture:

First Class Bath Tile

...and you get the tile Charlotte is wondering about.



I remember reading Titanic the Ship Magnificent, and it talks about black and white "lino" tiles. Those would be the ones mentioned early, correct? That were under the poop deck in the entrance and the open space under the well deck?

 

[Matthew DeWinkeleer]

To top it off, here's a photo taken from inside the Britannic, which shows the tile on the base of the floor around the fireman's spiral staircases (fourth photo from top)

http://www.divernet.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?id=2999&sc=1023&ac=d

 

[Charlotte Langley]

Thanks for the research, Matthew! Yes, the tile in your Third Class Tile rendering is exactly what I'm talking about! So were you supposing that this tile had a smaller tile that it alternated with to make up the pattern? (Like with the first class bathroom tiles of the octagonal type)I thought maybe it would be just the tile itself, butted up against itself like in your rendering...The photo from the Britannic is definitely a similar tile, isn't it?

 

[Charlotte Langley]

Yargh, my mistake Matthew. Not a "similar tile" from Brittanic, that's the same one! You're my hero, Matthew.
Not to be a dope again here, but on Brittanic that was at the base of a fireman's staircase? So Titanic used the same tile in third class bathrooms? Would this have been used in passageways or anything like that then, too? (Or are we just taking RMSTI's word for it that these tiles were even used in 3rd class bathrooms? -insert cynicism here)