Original vintage 9.75 x 7.5 New York Times/American Press Association press photo of two Titanic survivors coming off the Carpathia and surrounded by a throng of reporters on April 17, 1912. Reverse bears a New York Times stamp as well as several other date stamps. Paper loss to top edge and corners, a few small edge tears, and light overall creasing and wrinkling, otherwise very good condition. Provenance: Caren Archive, New York Times.
The radio operators on Carpathia were so busy transmitting messages from survivors to their families, a task Carpathia’s captain felt took priority, relatively little official information came from Carpathia during this period. The U.S. government was so anxious for information and a list of survivors (President Taft’s military aide had been on the ship) that it dispatched the U.S.S. Chester in an attempt to make radio contact with Carpathia in hopes of getting the requested information. The press, too, had been waiting for information and had attempted to solicit passengers and crew to provide exclusives while the ship was still at sea. Some reporters even planned to get onto the ship before it reached New York Harbor. This photo represents a culmination of the press’s tenacious efforts to gather as much information about what happened before their competition did. An original photograph of Titanic passengers just as they disembarked the rescue ship depicts a rare scene indeed! RR Auction COA.
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