Titanic Launch Photos

[Sam Brannigan]

Hello again all!

What is it with modems, eh? I've almost given up!

During the starting credits of the "Titanic" mini series starring Catherine Zeta Jones there were all the usual pix of the Titanics launch and a few more which, if they are genuine, I have never seen before.

They show two bow shots of the ship, one starboard one port, of the ship immediately after launch.

Has anyone got a copy of these phantom shots?

Kind regards

Sam

 

[Dan Cherry]

Sam,
both of those photos can be found in Eaton and Haas' book "Titanic- Triumph & Tragedy".

Regards,
Dan

 

[Jan C. Nielsen]

There are also many photographs of the Titanic in Belfast during her construction (shown with scaffolding all around her). The ship, and its sister, Olympic dwarf the buildings in the area.

Originally, I thought these were the only photographs from which you could appreciate the size of the ship. However, these pre-launch photos don't include the funnels --which were put up after the launching.

Fortunately, I ran across a drawing in a 1912 edition of a San Francisco newspaper which shows the Titanic alongside a famous San Francisco building, the James Flood Building, at 870 Market Street. The drawing asks "What if the Titanic stood in Market Street." Titanic (with funnels) was about the same height --from keel to tops of the funnels.

A few months ago I went to the Flood Building (which still exists) and took some pictures. I stood next to the building and tried to imagine the size of the ship. So far as I know, this is the only way to really get a handle on the ship's size --from top to bottom.

The drawing which compares the Flood Building and the Titanic, and contemporary photographs of the Flood Building can be viewed at:

communities.msn.com/jshomispictures

Check it out, viewing the Flood Building enables one to appreciate the ship's overall size. Looking at the Queen Mary, or some other 46,000 gross ton ship just gives you a waterline perspective.