Songs from the RMS Titanic

[orpington]

As for live music vs phonograph music: I knew a Titanic survivor once, who was a boy at the time of the disaster. He was in second class. I recall that he said, prior to the collision with the iceberg, that the voyage was "very boring". I would think that live music, and other forms of entertainment, other than what one could provide for one's self, was available only in first class. Having said that, the private suites available in first class would have provided both the privacy and space available to allow for the playing of a phonograph, if it was even possible to play one at sea (see posts, above, discussing this matter). In second & third class, would both the privacy and space been available in private rooms to play a phonograph? Doubtful in second, impossible in third. Now, whether or not one might have been set up in a common area by a passenger in possession of one, if it would even play at sea properly, could be a matter of debate.

[Lucius1958]

As for live music vs phonograph music: I knew a Titanic survivor once, who was a boy at the time of the disaster. He was in second class. I recall that he said, prior to the collision with the iceberg, that the voyage was "very boring". I would think that live music, and other forms of entertainment, other than what one could provide for one's self, was available only in first class. Having said that, the private suites available in first class would have provided both the privacy and space available to allow for the playing of a phonograph, if it was even possible to play one at sea (see posts, above, discussing this matter). In second & third class, would both the privacy and space been available in private rooms to play a phonograph? Doubtful in second, impossible in third. Now, whether or not one might have been set up in a common area by a passenger in possession of one, if it would even play at sea properly, could be a matter of debate.

I believe that, on a vessel so large as the Titanic, the pitch and roll while under way would have been slow and gentle enough (barring a storm) as to have a negligible effect upon tracking.... except, perhaps, for a Pathéphone or a Puck.

Bill

[epigramophone]

Gramophones were widely used as entertainment on transatlantic liners. Passengers in Third Class or Steerage would not have had access to the live orchestras and ensembles in First Class. When the ships were refitted, gramophones and other obsolete artefacts were often sold either to the crew or at auction on the quayside.

If an American ship was refitted in the UK, or vice versa, this might explain the presence of some Victrolas in the UK and HMV machines in the US, where they would not normally have been sold because of the reciprocal agreement between Victor and HMV. When a Victrola turns up in the UK it is often located at or near a seaport.

[Wolfe]

^ Could well be.

But having at one time been something of a Titanic buff - I got very interested in Titanic when it was discovered by Robert Ballard - I'm hard pressed to think of a singe photo of a phonograph or gramophone. Nor were any evidence of them in the debris field on the ocean floor. Going through online pictures taken on board Titanic sees not one machine. I would think there'd be at least a few, if only in first class. Third class accommodations on Titanic were so spartan, I'd doubt very much that phonos were present.

[Player-Tone]

My 1922 VV-50 playing 'Song d' Automme' on a colorful autumn afternoon. The song was performed by the Bohemian Orchestra on May 4, 1909.

Victor Record #16760-A
Song composed by Archibald Joyce in 1908.
Performed by the Bohemian Orchestra on May 4, 1909.

-Video recorded on October 27, 2014

[youtubehq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcj4LHojvWo[/youtubehq]

For a complete list of songs from the first class White Star Line songbook, check out this YouTube playlist.
These are modern recordings, but each one is perfect!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 9985526948