Maritime Museum Adds Titanic Artifact

This spring the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic adds a remarkable new artifact to its Titanic exhibit -- the only intact piece of cabinetry known to have survived the sinking. In fact, no other piece of furniture from the ship's interior is known to have come through the disaster intact.

The cabinet was recovered from the sea by crew from the Cable Ship Minia and was kept by Theodore Smith, one of the crew. His family made the cabinet their medicine chest, vividly illustrating how a Nova Scotian family integrated a piece of Titanic into their everyday lives.

The museum acquired the cabinet with funds donated by the public to the Nova Scotia Museum Endowment Fund and the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board.

"The museum has an important responsibility to keep Nova Scotia's cultural heritage in the province," said Michael Murray, director of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. "When the opportunity presented itself, we immediately recognized the value of the piece to Nova Scotians as representing part of their heritage. As well, we realized it would be of tremendous interest to visitors and help them better appreciate our history."

The handsome, yet rugged mahogany cabinet contains markings which show it was from first class bathrooms on Titanic's B-Deck, an indication of the decorative care dedicated to even humble areas of first class. The only comparative piece in the world is a single drawer from a dressing table on display at the Mariner's Museum in Virginia.

The cabinet now joins numerous other pieces in the museum's exhibit such as the Titanic deck chair and carved fragments from the ship's grand staircase.

The museum plans to unveil the cabinet at an illustrated talk by Dan Conlin, curator of marine history, on Tuesday, May 16. The public is invited to visit the museum to see and hear more about yet another side to the Titanic story and its connection to this province.