Titanic Historical Society

Reopening a 73-year-old controversy, the scientist who led the expedition that found the sunken liner Titanic said Wednesday that the 1,500 persons who drowned in the 1912 maritime disaster "died needlessly" because a passenger ship was near enough to rescue them. "There is no doubt in my mind that those people could have been rescued; they could have been saved," said Robert D.

Whether it is "Women and children first" or "Every man for himself" in a shipwreck may depend on how long it takes the ship to sink, researchers said Monday. When the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915, it sank in 18 minutes and the bulk of survivors were young men and women who responded immediately to their powerful survival instincts. But when the Titanic struck an iceberg in 1912, it took three hours to go down, allowing time for more civilized instincts to take control.

I would like to voice my support for Kenneth Turan and his views on "Titanic" ("Capt. Cameron's Solo Voyage," Dec. 19, and Saturday Letters, Dec. 27). With all the hundreds of interesting true-life stories that could have been told, why did such a dopey, soap-box story have to take place? The dialogue between the two lovers was unbelievable, the chase scenes ridiculous. I began to believe that this was supposed to be a comedy with a dramatic backdrip (sic) of factual material. The story was so big all by itself, I just can't see why a fairy tale was made of such a dramatic, horrendous tragedy.

NEW YORK -- After Christie's got $119,000 for a Titanic life jacket at an auction in London last year, Gregg Dietrich was not surprised that his phone kept ringing with offers of other items from the ill-fated ship. "When we sell one . . . more seem to come out of the woodwork," said Dietrich, who heads the maritime (or "ocean liner") division of the auction house here. "We're been inundated with Titanic offers." The problem was, many of the calls came from people like the man who was certain he had all sorts of valuable Titanic keepsakes: a first-class passenger list, a menu from its Cafe Parisienne, even a passenger ticket that would have been the first ever auctioned.

Whether it is "Women and children first" or "Every man for himself" in a shipwreck may depend on how long it takes the ship to sink, researchers said Monday. When the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915, it sank in 18 minutes and the bulk of survivors were young men and women who responded immediately to their powerful survival instincts. But when the Titanic struck an iceberg in 1912, it took three hours to go down, allowing time for more civilized instincts to take control.

NEW YORK -- After Christie's got $119,000 for a Titanic life jacket at an auction in London last year, Gregg Dietrich was not surprised that his phone kept ringing with offers of other items from the ill-fated ship. "When we sell one . . . more seem to come out of the woodwork," said Dietrich, who heads the maritime (or "ocean liner") division of the auction house here. "We're been inundated with Titanic offers." The problem was, many of the calls came from people like the man who was certain he had all sorts of valuable Titanic keepsakes: a first-class passenger list, a menu from its Cafe Parisienne, even a passenger ticket that would have been the first ever auctioned.

Barbara West Dainton, 96, one of the last two known survivors in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, died Oct. 16 at a nursing home in Camborne, England, according to Peter Visick, a distant relative. Dainton, born in Bournemouth in southern England on May 24, 1911, was too young to remember the night when the huge liner, on its maiden voyage from England to New York, hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic in April 1912, killing about 1,500 people, including her father, Edwy Arthur West.

Ruth Becker Blanchard, 90, who survived the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912. The Titanic Historical Society listed her as one of the oldest remaining survivors of the historic sinking of the 882-foot-long ship after it struck an Atlantic iceberg on its maiden voyage. A 12-year-old girl at the time of the tragedy, she was separated from her family but remained calm and helped distribute blankets to those in shock.

Researchers descended more than two miles Monday to the floor of the Atlantic and peered at the stern of the Titanic but decided not to send a robot into the wreckage for fear it would become snagged. Robert Ballard, leader of the expedition, described the stern as "one huge piece with a lot of wreckage around." The researchers had intended to send Jason Jr.

This is the book Titanic buffs have been waiting for. "Titanic: An Illustrated History" is likely to command the best berth in the library, even if one already has a shelf full of ill-fated-liner lore. The lavishly wide format is ideal for Marschall's dramatic paintings, which sweep across page-spreads so vividly you can almost hear the four-funneled ghost gliding through the waves.

I would like to voice my support for Kenneth Turan and his views on "Titanic" ("Capt. Cameron's Solo Voyage," Dec. 19, and Saturday Letters, Dec. 27). With all the hundreds of interesting true-life stories that could have been told, why did such a dopey, soap-box story have to take place? The dialogue between the two lovers was unbelievable, the chase scenes ridiculous. I began to believe that this was supposed to be a comedy with a dramatic backdrip (sic) of factual material. The story was so big all by itself, I just can't see why a fairy tale was made of such a dramatic, horrendous tragedy.

Reopening a 73-year-old controversy, the scientist who led the expedition that found the sunken liner Titanic said Wednesday that the 1,500 persons who drowned in the 1912 maritime disaster "died needlessly" because a passenger ship was near enough to rescue them. "There is no doubt in my mind that those people could have been rescued; they could have been saved," said Robert D.

Chester Janick has had more than a taste of success in his long career. Janick, of Aurora, Ill., estimates he has eaten more than 11,000 pints of ice cream on the job--mostly in tablespoon-size bites--and has tried more than 200 flavors, including many he created himself, as a professional ice cream sampler. Some flavors never made it past the testing stage. "There was the chocolate-pineapple," he recalled. "We tried it about 20 years ago, and it just didn't work.

Question: I have accumulated a large collection of sewing items, such as pin cushions, dating back to the turn of the century, and even some buttonhole cutters that undoubtedly are more than 100 years old. Can such a collection have much value?--S.H. Answer: Dealer catalogues show that sewing collectibles, such as 19th-Century buttonhole cutters, tape measures, spool boxes and pin cushions, carry individual price tags of $60 and up. So they obviously have significant value.