Titanic artifacts photos: Things from shipwreck wey dem keep inside one secret warehouse and dia story

One handbag wey dem make from alligator skin and tiny bottles of perfume wey still dey release strong scent, na just some of di precious artefacts dem recover from di world most famous shipwreck – di Titanic.

Di exact location of di warehouse wia dem dey store these tins na closely guarded secret, becos of di value of dia contents. All we fit say na say e dey somewhere for Atlanta, Georgia, for United States.

Inside, thousands of items dey inside di shelves: from one bathtub and dented porthole, to finely designed glassware and tiny buttons.

Dem give BBC rare chance to look around di storage facility and discover di tori behind some of dis objects.

One alligator bag wey hide tragic story

“E dey really beautiful, na fashionable little bag,” Tomasina Ray, director of collections for RMS Titanic Inc, di company wey recover dis artefacts tok.

Di US firm get di salvage rights to di ship and ova di years, dem don retrieve 5,500 items from di wreck site. Dem dey display part of dem around di world.

Dem make dis bag from alligator skin, and e don survive many decades under di North Atlantic.

Dem also preserve di delicate items wey dey inside di bag, wey reveal details of di life of di owner - one third-class passenger wey her name na Marian Meanwell.

“She be 63-year-old hatmaker,” Tomasina tok. “And she bin dey travel go di US to stay wit her daughter wey recently lost her husband.”

Among di tins wey dey inside di bag na one faded photograph, wey dem reason say go be Marian Meanwell mama.

One paperwork wey she go need for her new life for America also dey di bag, plus one handwritten reference letter from her former landlord for London. Di letter say: “We don always find Miss Meanwell as good tenant, she dey quick make her payment.”

Her medical inspection card dey inside too, as all third-class passengers get to prove say dem no dey bring disease enta di US. But dis water-stained document reveal one tragic twist of fate.

Dem bin book Marian Meanwell on di Majestic - one White Star Line ship. But e no sail, so ontop di card, dem cross Majestic out and her passage show say dem transfer her go di Titanic and she become one of di 1,500 pipo wey lose dia lives.

“To fit tell her story and get dis objects dey really important,” Tomasina tok.

“Otherwise, she just be anoda name for di list.”

Perfume wey still get strong scent

Dem also bring items wey belong to survivors from under di deep sea.

Tomasina open one plastic container and one sweet smell fill di air. “E dey very powerful,” she disclose.

Inside na tiny bottles of perfume. Dem dey sealed, but pipo fit smell dia strong aroma, even afta decades on di seafloor.

“E get one perfume salesman on board and e get ova 90 of dis little perfume bottles,” Tomasina explain.

Im name na Adolphe Saalfeld, e bin dey travel as a second-class passenger.

Saalfeld na one of di 700 pipo wey survive. But women and children na di priority during di evacuation, some men wey make am off di ship, di mata continue to trouble dem.

“E don die by di time we find dis,”Tomasina tok. “But na my understanding say e bin live wit small guilt - survivor guilt.”

A champagne lifestyle

Also for di collection, na one champagne bottle – e complete wit champagne inside and a cork for di top.

“Small water fit don enta through di cork as e compress and equalise di pressure. And den, e just siddon for di bottom of di ocean,” Tomasina tok.

Wen di Titanic sink for 1912, afta e hit one iceberg, di ship bin divide and di contents bin spill out, and e create one large debris field.

“Plenty bottles dey for di ocean floor and plenty stock pots and kitchen pots too, becos di Titanic actually break up for around one of di kitchens,” Tomasina tok.

Thousands of bottles of champagne bin dey on board. Di owner of di ship bin want make im first-class passengers experience di ultimate luxury, wit extravagant surroundings and di finest food and drink.

“E be like floating palace and Titanic suppose be di most luxurious liner,” Tomasina tok.

“So make champagne dey, make gym dey, make e get all dis amenities and dis great things for di passengers, na something wey bin dey really important to dem.”

Di Titanic rivets

Di Titanic bin dey on her maiden voyage, she bin dey travel for di first time from Southampton go di US, wen she hit di iceberg.

Di ship bin get advanced safety features of dat time and e dem bin famously tok say e dey unsinkable.

Tomasina show us some of di ship rivets - metal pins - wey include pins, nails, screws, fasteners, bolts, wey hold di ship thick steel plates togeda.

Di rivets wey we see go pass more dan three million.

“Wen Titanic sank, one theory bin dey go round say, di builders bin dey use substandard materials, and maybe na wetin make am sink faster be dat,” Tomasina explain.

Dem bin test some of dis rivets to see if dem contain any impurities.

“High concentrations of slag bin dey dis ones, wey be one glass-like material wey dey make dem dey maybe a little bit more hard for di cold,” she tok.

Tomasina say plenty tins still dey to learn about how exactly di ship take sink.

“We dey help look into di theories, so as to dey able contribute to di science and di story behind am, na something wey we dey very happy to do.”

Di class divide

Life on board dey different for di social classes - even down to di cups and plates dem dey drink and eat from.

One white third-class mug dey simple and durable, and e get bright red White Star logo.

Second-class plate get one beautiful blue floral decoration and e look more finer.

But first-class dinner plate dey made of more delicate china. E get gold trim and, under di light, you fit catch a glimpse of one elegant garland pattern.

Dem dey give wealthy first-class passengers, silver service for dia meals - but for third class, na different story.

“Third-class passengers probably for don handle di china by themselves – Dem do di plates to dey more stable and pipo fit handle am anyhow pass di oda china,” Tomasina explain.

RMS Titanic Inc na di only company wey dem legally allow to recover items from di site – na one US court grant dem dis right for 1994.

But dem get to do am under strict conditions - di items must always remain togeda, so dem no fit sell dem off separately, and dem get to look afta dem well-well.

Until now, all di artefacts dem don collect na from di debris field. But recently, di firm bin start one controversy say dem wan retrieve one object from di ship itself - di Marconi radio equipment wey transmit di Titanic distress calls on di night of di sinking.

Some believe say di wreck na grave site and make dem leave am alone.

“Titanic na something wey we wan respect,” Tomasina reply.

“We wan make sure say we dey preserve di memory, becos no be everybody fit go wia Titanic dey, and we wan dey able to bring dat to di public.”

More room soon fit dey needed on di shelves of dis secret warehouse.

For di company latest expedition go di site, dem take millions of fotos of wetin remain of di Titanic to create a detailed 3D scan.

Dem also survey di current condition of di Marconi radio room, di team also dey identify objects for di debris field dem go like retrieve in future dives.

Who sabi wetin dem go find and which kain new tori each item fit reveal about di ill-fated Titanic plus her passengers.

Photo credits: Marian Meanwell: Patricia Chopra / Encyclopedia Titanica; Adolphe Saalfeld: Astra Burka Archives; Titanic wreck: RMS Titanic Inc; Titanic artefacts: Kevin Church / BBC; Historical images: Getty Images.

Design by Lilly Huynh