Tea and Titanic Exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Library

This week I attended afternoon tea at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library where I got to hear from Kevin L. Jones, a curator for the FIDM museum and library, who spoke to us about his work studying fashion and the apparel industry aboard the Titanic. The Ronald Reagan library is hosting a special exhibition on the Titanic this summer in celebration of the discovery of the Titanic shipwreck site in 1985. According to the exhibition the discovery occurred by accident during a top secret US Naval investigation of two wrecked nuclear submarines. The Cold War spygames between the US and the Soviet Union complicated things even more and President Reagan and his administration had to act quickly in order to ensure the mission remained classified as well as to protect the historic site. By the following year Reagan issued the 1986 RMS Titanic memorial act which designated the site as an international maritime memorial.
The exhibition included artifacts from the original shipwreck such as pocket watches and deck chairs. Besides artifacts from the wreckage the exhibit also included several iconic items from the 1997 film The Titanic which celebrated it's 20th anniversary this year. Costumes and props were displayed as well as the equipment used to explore the wreckage.

In order to recreate a scale replica of the ship for the film director James Cameron and his crew spent months at the site. However the first exploration mission was headed by Dr. Bob Ballard who descended 13,000 feet to the ocean floor in "Alvin" the metal sphere designed to withstand the deep sea pressures.

According to Mr. Jones the discovery of the Titanic shipwreck offered a look into the past and fashion was a huge part of the process of piecing together the lives of the 2, 222 passengers aboard the infamous ship. The Titanic was the place to be in 1912 and anybody who was somebody had booked a ticket for the maiden voyage on the extravagant oceanliner.

An original lifeboat from the Titanic

One of the most famous passengers and the inspiration for the character Rose Dekater in James Cameron's film was Charlotte Cardeza who was the daughter of textile magnate Thomas Drake. She was returning from a shopping trip in Paris with her son and brought onboard 14 trunks of clothing and jewelry she had purchased. She occupied the most expensive suite aboard the ship and later filed an insurance claim for 36,567 pounds or 4.2 million dollars in today's currency, against the White Star Line for her lost luggage. The detailed document includes 16 pages of her purchases and not only provides an amazing list of the types of items available during the time but also their prices and brands giving a look into the economics of the 19th century economy. The document is a fascinating look into the life of a turn of the century socialite and many brands listed are still around today including names like Tiffany and Co., Lord and Taylor and Louis Vuitton.

Jones also pointed out that there were several other notable guests on board the ship as well and many who worked in the fashion industry including the Strauss couple who owned Macy's department stores. He told us that besides the department store owners the ship also carried many goods for businesses of all kinds and there were over 49 fashion distributors waiting on cargo that would never arrive in the US. While those distributors may have never received their goods many interesting articles of clothing were later discovered in the wreckage including a bowler hat that had retained it's shape and texture for over 70 years while being submerged in 12,500 feet of water at over 6500 pounds of pressure per square inch.
According to Mr. Jones many other famous passengers traveling in the first class were also involved in the fashion industry including Edith Rosenbaum who was the chief correspondent for Women's Wear Daily. He said that although it was considered highly unusual for a young lady to travel unaccompanied on an ocean liner at the time she was determined not to miss out on the historical voyage. And she had no shortage of guests to report on either as John Jacob Astor the 5th and his new wife as well as the famous 1920s couturier known simply as Lucille were also on board. He also told us that Lucille was one of the first female fashion designers to be considered a couturier and she revolutionized the turn of the century silhouette for women by creating dresses that were both comfortable and functional in a breezy Grecian design. Many of her most notable clients were on board the ship as well.
Mr. Jones also pointed out that while the first class passengers included many famous names in the fashion industry the clothing and luggage from the 2nd class and steerage also provided much insight that was used in later films and research into the lives of the Titanic passengers. According to him one recovered photo and some luggage from one family traveling from Ireland in the steerage showed that although they were traveling in the lowest class aboard the Titanic they would have been considered as a more middle class status in most circles. He believes that since they were all traveling together they had purchased the least expensive tickets however their stylish clothing and new shoes provided clues that this was not a typical position for them. Unfortunately they never made it to America, as they like many other 3rd class passengers died on the ill fated voyage.
The exhibit concluded with a display on the aftermath of the wreckage including newspaper articles and advertisements that followed the shocking events.


Many surviving passengers arrived in New York with no resources or family so first class passenger Margaret Brown quickly took it upon herself to organize help for the stranded women and children and allowed many of them to stay in her hotel. She gained popularity for her work as the "unsinkable Molly Brown" and later appeared in a US savings bond advertisement.

After news broke that the Titanic had gone down it also spurred a Senate inquiry which led to changes in the shipping lanes for steamships in the North Atlantic.