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britannica - americana
Extraordinary group of eight telegrams sent by Bruce Ismay, managing
director of the
White Star Line
, the fleet to which belonged the
Titanic
, just
after his rescue from the sinking
Titanic
by the Cunard liner,
Carpathia.
As managing director of the shipping company to which
the
Titanic
belonged, Bruce Ismay went on the maiden voyage of
the
Titanic
as a passenger. Director of the Oceanic Steam Navigation
Company or White Star Line, the fleet to which the
Titanic
belonged,
Ismay had managed to leave the ship, but was considered to be one
of those responsible for the disaster. Addressed to Islefrank, the
office of the White Star Line in New York, the telegrams are written
in the Marconi international maritime language. The first telegram of
the series bears the full name of Ismay, while all the others have his
name spelled backwards “Yamsi.”
The first ship to respond to the distress signal of the Titanic was the
Cunard liner,
Carpathia,
which was fifty-eight miles away. Arriving
one hour and twenty minutes after the
Titanic
sunk
, Carpathia
took
aboard
Titanic
survivors who were fortunate enough to get into
lifeboats. Upon boarding
Carpathia,
Ismay writes to his New York
office at 5:50 AM on 15 April 1912: “Deeply regret [to] advise you
Titanic sank this morning fifteenth after collision iceberg resulting
serious loss life further particulars later..” At 1:00 PM the same day
Ismay transmits more information: “Most desirable Titanic crew
aboard Carpathia should be returned home earliest moment possible /
suggest you hold Cedric sailing her daylight Friday unless you see any
reason contrary / propose returning her myself please send outfit of
clothes including shoes for me to Cedric/ have nothing of my own…”
There is a date discrepancy in Ismay’s first telegrams. Upon being
taken aboard the
Carpathia
, Ismay dispatched the news of the
disaster to Phillip A. S. Franklin in the New York office on 15 April
at 5:50 am. Ismay’s message, however, was not transmitted until
17 April as evidenced in both telegrams at the top right corner with
the “sent date”, that is a full two days later. On 18 April, Ismay
sent six more telegrams requesting his correspondent to meet him
and make arrangements for the
Cedric
to retrieve the
Titanic
crew
from
Carpathia
as soon as possible: “Please join Carpathia quarantine
/ if possible . . .”; “Send responsible ships officer and fourteen White
Star sailors in two tug boats to take charge of thirteen
Titanic
boats
at quarantine…”; “Widener not aboard hope see you in quarantine
/ please cable wife am returning…” [Ismay makes mention here of
George Widener, the Philadelphia streetcar magnate who did not
survive the disaster]; “Very important you should hold Cedric daylight
Friday for
Titanic
crew…”; “Think most unwise keep
Titanic
crew until
Saturday…”; “Unless you have good and substantial reason for not
holding Cedric please arrange do so most / undesirable have New
York crew so long…”
The three responses from the New York office of 17 and 18 April clearly
convey great concern and distress over the disaster: “So thankful
you are saved but grieving with you over terrible calamity / shall sail
Saturday . . . accept my deepest sympathy horrible catastrophe / will
meet you aboard Carpathia after docking / is Widener aboard…”; “Have
arranged forward crew Lapland sailing Saturday calling Plymouth we all
consider most unwise delay / Cedric considering all circumstances…”;
“Concise marconigram account of actual accident greatly needed
for enlightenment public and ourselves / this is most important…”
According to Walter Lord in his
A Night to Remember
, Bruce Ismay
completely isolated himself in his cabin almost immediately after
boarding the
Carpathia:
“…he never ate anything solid; he never
received a visitor [except one]; he was kept to the end under the
influence of opiates. It was a start of a self-imposed exile from active
life. Within a year he retired from the
White Star Line
, purchased
a large estate on the west coast of Ireland and remained a virtual
recluse till he died in 1937.”
provenance
Sotheby’s NewYork, 13 December 2011, lot 39.
En tant que directeur de la compagnie maritime à laquelle appartenait le
bateau, Bruce Ismay a voulu faire la traversée inaugurale du
Titanic
. Le
premier bateau à répondre aux appels de détresse fut le
Carpathia
, qui
était alors à 58 miles et quatre bonnes heures de distance du naufrage.
Arrivé une heure et vingt minutes après que le
Titanic
eut coulé, le
Carpathia
prit à son bord les survivants qui furent assez chanceux pour
monter dans un canot de sauvetage. Une fois à bord du bateau, Ismay
prévient son bureau de New York à 5h50 du matin le 15 avril 1912 que le
Titanic
a coulé ce matin 15 après une collision avec un iceberg, causant
de sérieuses pertes humaines… A une heure de l’après-midi le même
jour, il envoie plus d’informations et demande que les passagers du
Titanic
sur le
Carpathia
puissent rentrer chez eux le plus vite possible,
en faisant naviguer le Cedric toute la journée ; qu’on envoie pour lui
affaires, vêtements et chaussures ; il n’a plus rien à lui… On notera que
les télégrammes, rédigés le 15, ne sont arrivés que le 17 avril, date notée
sur les messages. On a découvert, lors de l’enquête, que le capitaine
du
Carpathia
avait retardé l’expédition du télégramme de deux jours,
expliquant qu’il n’était pas habituel de transférer les messages d’un autre
bateau, sauf s’ils appartiennent à la même ligne. Le 18 avril, Ismay a
envoyé 6 autres télégrammes demandant à son correspondant de le
rencontrer et lui demandant de s’arranger pour que le Cedric récupère
l’équipe du
Titanic
à bord du
Carpathia
dès que possible. Les trois
réponses du bureau de New York, les 17 et 18 avril, montrent clairement
les inquiétudes et la détresse à propos du désastre.
provenance
Vente Sotheby’s NewYork, 13 décembre 2011, n° 39.
[TITANIC]. ISMAY JOSEPH BRUCE
(1862-1937).
British businessman, Director of the White Star Line.
8 TELEGRAMS sent by Bruce Ismay, 15-18 April 1912,
to Islefranck (Office of the
White Star Line
) in New
York; 1 page oblong in-8 format, on letterhead “
The
Marconi International Marine Communication
Company”
, with three telegrams received by Ismay
on board the
Carpathia
from Phillip A. S. Franklin
of
Islefrank
, responding to Ismay’s messages. Each
telegram mounted on folio sheets, joined together with
metallic ties, with title “ ”
Book N° 1 Copy. Carpathia Mr
Ismay’s m[essa]ges sent and received
”; half-morocco dark
blue box; in English.
4 000 / 5 000 €
183