A rare holiday brochure for the Titanic, proclaiming the doomed liner as ‘the epitome of security’, has surfaced after 111 years.
The booklet, published a year before the liner sank with the loss of 1,522 lives on her maiden voyage, boasted that the ship reached levels of prestige and beauty never seen before.
It stated both Titanic and her sister ship Olympic were the perfect example of comfort, elegance and security.
It was even compared to Noah’s Ark in terms of the importance of the ship’s role in man’s development.
The brochure was clearly aimed at high-society types and painted a picture of the sumptuous surroundings the wealthy first class passengers would enjoy.
One of the key selling points was the Titanic’s grand staircase, which featured heavily in the 1997 blockbuster film starring Kate Winslet.
It described how the lights from the handsome chandelier above it would ‘reflect upon the glittering jewels of women in brilliant evening frocks.’
The brochure also detailed the lavish first class accommodation and contained nearly 50 pictures of the other amenities on board such as the dining rooms and Turkish baths.
Although hundreds of copies would have been printed and distributed to potential customers in 1911, only a handful are in existence today and it is extremely rare for one to come to public light.
The brochure is now being sold by a private collector who uncovered it in Northern Ireland several years ago.
It is expected to sell at auction for £6,000.
Andrew Aldridge, of auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes, Wilts, said: “There are no more than a handful of these in existence.
“It is more of a promotional brochure that was aimed at wealthy prospective passengers.
“The Titanic wasn’t due to set sail for another year and so the owners hadn’t formulated the prices at that time, which is why they aren’t in there.
“The brochure was just about how this ship was the biggest and best ship on the planet at that time.
“Other brochures at the time ran to 16 or 32 pages but this one was by far the largest with 72 pages. It was profusely illustrated.”
