Titanic artifacts:
Perfume Labels and Perfume Vial
At the time Titanic sailed, the American perfume market was booming, and Manchester perfume-maker Adolphe Saalfeld hoped to cash in. Travelling as a first-class passenger, Saalfeld survived the sinking, but never realized his goal of selling fragrances to the US market. Of the 65 vials he brought with him, 62 were recovered, many of which you can still smell today.
Dominion of Canada 25-Cent "Shinplasters"
Prior to 1867, Canadians had been using US silver coins, but in the two years that followed Confederation, Canada removed these US coins, and issued a series of 25-cent notes to be used while they waited for new coins to arrive from England, a process that was repeated several times up until 1923.
Brush Back Inscribed with "Royal Ivoire France"
Following fast on the heels of the first synthetic polymer - Charles Goodyear’s tires - other synthetic polymers, including Plastic, became all the rage. Faux ivory mirror backs, hairbrushes and trays would have been found in the luggage of many first-class passengers, who used these items to prepare for dinners. Some women even brought six different ensembles, one for each of the shipboard dinners.
Purser's Tag
As the sinking ship filled with water, pursers tried valiantly to bring to the upper decks many objects left in their care, including valuable jewels that would have been reclaimed at voyage’s end, using a tag like this. This tag tells another story too: recovered from inside a wallet, it is like most other paper and clothing that survived, preserved by the tanning process of leather that made it inedible to microorganisms.
Third Class Cup
Heavy and serviceable, third-class dishware carried the White Star Line's logo to discourage theft. Like all china onboard, the name "Titanic” never appeared, allowing the cup to be used by other White Star Line ships. This cup would have been used at the 473-seat, third-class dining area, where passengers dined at 20-seat long tables. The surroundings were sparse, but the food may have been some of the best many of them had ever eaten.
Gold Cufflink Back
This tiny cufflink back was found inside a silver plated soup tureen bundled together with some buttons, ceramic shards, a hook, and bits of textile.
Rosenshine Receipt
George Rosenshine, 45, boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg following a successful European business trip, bringing with him, among other things, twelve cases of ostrich feathers. Like a surprising number of Titanic passengers, Rosenshine travelled under an assumed name - like many, this was because he had brought his mistress along. Although he did not survive the sinking, his belongings were recovered in 1987, among them, many business documents, letters issued by Thomas Cook & Company, and some personal letters.