The hidden story of the Titanic hidden in a secret warehouse

Stylish crocodile leather handbags and small bottles of perfume that still smell strong are just some of the rare artifacts recovered from the Titanic, the world’s most famous shipwreck.

Due to the value of their contents, the exact location of the warehouse where they were stored is a closely guarded secret. All we can say is that it is located somewhere in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The shelves inside are filled with thousands of objects: from upturned bathtubs and recessed portholes, to intricately etched glassware and tiny buttons.

The BBC was given a rare opportunity to visit the storage facility and discover the stories behind some of the items.

“It’s a very nice, stylish little bag,” said Tomasina Ray, director of collections for the Titanic company that recovered the artifacts. The American company owns the rights to the ship and has recovered 5,500 items from the wreck over the years, some of which are on display around the world.

The bag is made from crocodile skin, which has survived for decades in the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean. The exquisite items inside have also been preserved, revealing the details of the owner’s life—— A third-class passenger named Marianne Minwell.

“She was a 63-year-old milliner,” Thomasina said. “She was traveling to the United States to reunite with her recently widowed daughter.”

Among the memorabilia inside is a faded photograph thought to be of Marianne Minwell’s mother.

There were also documents she needed for her new life in the United States, including a handwritten letter of recommendation from her former landlord in London. It read: “We have always considered Miss Minwell to be a good tenant and pay promptly.”

Her medical card was also inside, as all third-class passengers were required to prove they had not brought illnesses into the United States. But the water-soaked document reveals a tragic twist of fate.

Marian Meanwell booked another White Star Line cruise ship, the Majestic. But it didn’t sail, so Majestic was crossed out on the card, and her text shows she was transferred to Titanic and became one of the 1,500 people who perished.

“It’s important to be able to tell her story and have these items,” Thomasina said.

“Otherwise she’s just another name on the list.”

Objects belonging to survivors have also been brought back from the depths.

Thomasina opened a plastic container and a sickly sweet smell filled the air. “It’s very effective,” she admits.

Inside is a small bottle of perfume. They are sealed, but their strong aroma still comes out even after spending decades at the bottom of the ocean.

“There was a perfume salesman on the ship who had more than 90 of these little perfume bottles,” Thomasina explains.

His name was Adolphe Saalfeld, and he was traveling in second class.

Saalfield was one of 700 survivors. But as women and children were prioritized during the evacuation, some men who escaped from the ship were left in limbo.

“By the time we found this out, he had already passed,” Thomasina said. “But from what I understand, he did live with a little bit of guilt — survivor’s guilt.”

Also included in the collection is a champagne bottle – filled with champagne and topped with a cork.

“As the cork compresses and equalizes the pressure, a little bit of water might get in through the cork. Then it sinks to the bottom of the sea,” Thomasina said.

In 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. The hull cracked and its contents spilled out, creating a huge wreckage field.

“There were a lot of bottles on the ocean floor, and a lot of soup pots and kitchen pots, because the Titanic actually broke up near one of the galleys,” Thomasina said.

There were thousands of bottles of champagne on board. The liner’s owners wanted first-class passengers to experience the ultimate in luxury, sumptuous surroundings and the finest food and drink.

“It’s like a floating palace, and the Titanic should be the most luxurious passenger ship,” Thomasina said.

“So it’s really important for passengers to have champagne, a gym, all these amenities and these great things for them.”

The Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to the United States.

The ship had advanced safety features for its time and was known for being unsinkable.

Thomasina showed us some of the ship’s rivets, the thick metal pins that hold thick steel plates together. Their number will exceed three million.

“When the Titanic sank, there was a theory that they might have used substandard materials and that’s what caused it to sink faster,” Thomasina explains.

Some of these rivets have been tested to see if they contain any impurities.

“They contain high concentrations of slag, a glass-like material, which makes them potentially more brittle in the cold,” she said.

“If those rivets are brittle and one of the rivet heads breaks off more easily, then the seam where the iceberg hits can open up and make it larger than it would otherwise be.”

Thomasina said there is still much to learn about exactly how the ship sank.

“We’re able to help research theories, so being able to contribute to the science and the stories behind it is something we’re really happy to do.”

Life on board was different for the social classes – even down to the cups and plates they drank from and ate from.

The white third-class cup is simple and sturdy, with a bright red white star logo on it. The second-class plate has a beautiful blue floral decoration, which makes it look more sophisticated. But top-notch dinner plates are made from finer porcelain. It has gold trim and under the light you can glimpse the intricate garland pattern.

“The pattern was originally colored, but because it was colored on top of the glaze, it could be washed away,” Thomasina said.

Wealthy first-class passengers can enjoy silver meal service, but in third class, it’s a different story.

“Third class passengers would probably handle the china themselves – it’s certainly more stable and handled more roughly than other china,” Thomasina explains.

RMS Titanic is the only company legally allowed to recover items from the site – a US court granted the company this right in 1994. Cannot be sold individually closed and must be properly preserved.

So far, all artifacts have been collected from the debris field. But recently, the company sparked controversy when it claimed it wanted to retrieve an item from the ship – the Marconi radio equipment that sent out distress signals on the night the Titanic sank.

Some people believe that the wreck is a burial ground and should be left alone.

“Titanic is something we want to respect,” Thomasina responded.

“We want to make sure these memories are preserved because not everyone gets to be on the Titanic and we want to be able to bring that to the public.”

This secret warehouse will soon need more space on its shelves.

The company’s recent expedition to the site captured millions of images of the wreck to create detailed 3D scans.

And, in addition to investigating the current conditions of the Marconi radio room, the team has also been identifying objects in the debris field that they hope to retrieve during future dives.

Who knows what they will find, and what untold stories each item might reveal about the ill-fated Titanic and her passengers.

Photo Credit: Marian Meanwell: Patricia Chopra/ Encyclopedia of Titanic; Adolf Saalfield: Astra Burka Archive; Titanic Wreck: RMS Titanic Company; Titanic Artifacts: Kevin Church/BBC; Historical Images: Getty Images.

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