Trophy cups sold in Barber Shop?

[Mike Johnson]

I've seen 3 styles of trophy cups on eBay said to be replicas of those sold in Titanic's barber shops. They are described as being brass, plated with silver and with a 24 karat gold Titanic seal. I haven't come across any photos or record on the Internet of authentic, recovered trophies related to Titanic other than photo(s) of Olympic's barber shop. However, the photo(s) are not of the quality where you can get detailed views of any items for sale to verify authenticity of reproductions (or actual relics).

Does anybody know anything about the actual trophies presumably sold on Titanic?

Any pictures?

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Short of dredging one up there's no way of knowing exactly what kind of 'loving cups' were on sale in the Titanic's barber shops, and it's a fair bet that the makers of those 'reproductions' don't know either. Most of the genuine ones I've seen from White Star ships of the period are typical 'cheap and cheerful' barber shop fare - they look like small tin mugs with an extra handle. Silver-plated brass would be right, but the badges are generally the usual enamelled brass, with no gold plate. Cups with stems do exist but I think they're of a later period (1920s or '30s onwards) and they tend to be less elegant and with less decorative detail than the 'repros' though of basically the same shape:

 

[Mike Johnson]

Thank you for your information, Bob.