A fashionable alligator handbag and tiny vials of perfume that still release a potent scent are just some of the precious artefacts recovered from the world’s most famous shipwreck – the Titanic.
The exact location of the warehouse where they are stored is a closely guarded secret, because of the value of its contents. All we can say is that it is somewhere in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.
Inside, the shelves are packed with thousands of items: from an upturned bathtub and dented porthole, to intricately etched glassware and tiny buttons.
The BBC was given a rare chance to look around the storage facility and discover the stories behind some of these objects.
An alligator bag hiding a tragic tale
“It’s a really beautiful, fashionable little bag,” says Tomasina Ray, director of collections for RMS Titanic Inc, the company that has recovered these artefacts. The US firm has the salvage rights to the ship and over the years has retrieved 5,500 items from the wreck site, a selection of which are put on display around the world.
The bag is made from alligator skin, which has survived decades in the depths of the North Atlantic. The delicate items inside have been preserved too, revealing details of the life of its owner – a third-class passenger called Marian Meanwell.
“She was a 63-year-old milliner,” says Tomasina. “And she was travelling to the US to be with her daughter who was recently widowed.”
Among the mementos inside was a faded photograph, thought to be Marian Meanwell’s mother.
There was also paperwork she would need for her new life in America, including
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