R.M.S. TITANIC- ORIGINAL PLAN PREPARED FOR BRITISH TITANIC E...

Hammer

£17,500

R.M.S. TITANIC- ORIGINAL PLAN PREPARED FOR BRITISH TITANIC ENQUIRY:
On Monday, April 22nd, 1912, Sydney Buxton, President of the British Board of Trade, requested Lord Chancellor Loreburn to appoint a Wreck Commissioner to investigate the disaster of the Titanic. To fill this seat, the Lord Chancellor appointed John Charles Bigham, Baron (Lord) Mersey of Toxteth. The other members of the committee appointed to assist him were Rear Admiral S.A. Gough-Calthorpe (Retired), Captain A.W. Clarke, Commander F.C.A. Lyon (Retired), Professor J. Harvard Biles (a naval architect) and Edward C. Chaston (an engineer). The Enquiry began on May 2nd, 1912, at the London Scottish Drill Hall, Westminster, and continued until July 3rd, 1912 having taken the testimony of nearly 100 witnesses over a period of 36 days, and considered the written depositions of numerous others.
This lot consists of a longitudinal mid-section plan of Titanic prepared by the Naval Architects Department of White Star Line with the help of builders Harland and Wolff, Belfast for use at the British Enquiry. The plan was prepared in Indian ink and hand-coloured. Drawn on paper and mounted to linen, the plan measures an astounding 6ft. 2ins. x 4ft. 8ins. It is headed "SECTION S.S. TITANIC". It is drawn in graphic detail to a scale of ½ins. to 1 foot and was painstakingly hand-captioned throughout in very large and bold lettering in an apparent attempt to assist the members of the commission in understanding the complexities of the ship. Each deck is noted by its official designation as well as its nautical designation beginning from topside as follows: "Boat Deck", "A Deck-Promenade", "B Deck-Bridge", "C Deck-Shelter", "D Deck-Saloon", "E Deck-Upper", "F Deck-Middle", "G Deck-Lower", "Orlop Deck". Below the Orlop Deck is the "Tank Top" with 14 watertight compartments shown in blue.
There are other details on the plan, all of which are hand drawn in bold ink. Chief among them are respective notations on each side of G Deck which state, "Approximate Mean Draft at Time of Accident" (Emphasis added), with hand-coloured markings depicting the draft. Interesting indeed that at a time when most reports were referring to the incident as a disaster or the like that this company's prepared plan would refer to it as an "accident" in an apparent effort to minimize the perception of liability at a public proceeding where psychology may have had a significant impact.
An important, and in one sense very beautiful part of this plan, are two artistically hand-drawn and coloured lifeboats in davits at the top of the plan on each end of the ship. The aft lifeboat is accompanied by the hand-lettered description, "Sea Going Position of After Life Boats. 4 Port and 4 Starboard." This is consistent with the known complement of 8 lifeboats in this part of the ship. The forward lifeboat drawing, however, is accompanied by the description, "Sea Going Portion of Forward Life Boats. 3 Port and 3 Starboard." This would make a total of 14 lifeboats (plus 4 collapsible lifeboats), when the total No. of lifeboats is known to be 16 (plus 4 collapsible). Thus two other escape craft are strangely ignored.
Two of the lifeboats in the forward part of the ship were smaller (40') boats often referred to as "emergency" boats which were held at the ready, kept swung out on their davits, to assist in man-overboard situations, though they could be, and were, also available for use in evacuation scenarios. It may have been these boats which, for some reason, were not included in the count. This would account for the two "missing" boats but would not explain why they were not counted in the first place.
This lot represents an incredible opportunity to acquire a unique and historically significant part of Titanic's story. It is a strikingly magnificent and commanding piece with all the colours amazingly vivid and vibrant. In terms of size, artistry and historical importance, it could easily be the centrepiece of any collection or exhibition. A true museum piece, the sister to this plan was the famous 32ft Titanic schematic used at the British Enquiry that sold for £195000 in April of this year.