Rare photos depicting the rescue efforts after the sinking of the Titanic are set to go up for auction this week.
The photos are included in the scrapbook of New York socialite Louis M. Ogden, who was sailing to Europe with his wife Agatha in April 1912 when their ship got an emergency call from the Titanic, which had struck an iceberg and was sinking rapidly, the Daily Mail reports.
The Carpathia arrived at the scene at daybreak, where they started rescuing the survivors who had waited out the night in lifeboats.
Ogden, a lawyer, had bought a new camera for the trip, which was still a rare thing to own unless you were wealthy.
He took pictures of the rescue – showing lifeboats approaching the ship and being brought on deck – including lifeboat no. 6, which had the now famous Margaret Brown on board.
Mrs Brown was later nicknamed the Unsinkable Molly Brown for her courage in standing up to the sailor in charge of the boat, who refused to turn back to look for survivors in the water.
While Mrs Brown was unsuccessful in sparking a mutiny, she has been immortalized for her leadership and for pitching in to row.
Another picture taken by Ogden shows an iceberg on the horizon which he notes is the one that sunk the Titanic, though it’s unclear if he was correct.
Many of the pictures show an eerily barren sea, when most were expecting to see a mass of bodies.
Historical records of the rescue operation have painted the Ogdens in a good light, lending their clothing to survivors and serving hot coffee on the deck.
Archibald Gracie IV, a direct descendant of the Archibald Gracie who build Gracie Mansion, the New York City Mayor’s official residence, survived the sinking by climbing on top of an overturned lifeboat.
When he was rescued by the Carpathia, he found Ogden, an old friend on board. He wrote about the experience in his book about the disaster, The Truth About the Titanic.
‘I am particularly grateful to a number of kind people on the Carpathia who helped replenish my wardrobe, but especially to Mr Louis M. Ogden, a family connection and old friend. To Mrs Ogden and to Mr and Mrs Spedden, who were on the Titanic, and to their boy’s trained nurse, I am also grateful. They gave me hot cordials and hot coffee which soon warmed me up and dispersed the cold,’ Gracie wrote.
Mr Ogden died in 1946, and after that his wife moved to Florida.
