RMS Titanic - Record of Bodies and Effects - front cover

RMS Titanic - Record of Bodies and Effects. The Commercial Cable Company steamer CS Mackay-Bennett was the first vessel chartered by the White Star Line in the aftermath of the sinking for the gruesome task of locating and recovering the bodies of Titanic's dead. Of the 306 bodies which were recovered during the Mackay-Bennett's seven-day search, 116 were buried at sea and 190 were brought back to Halifax to a makeshift morgue. To document each body recovered the provincial coroner of Nova Scotia prepared a list of all 306 bodies, including their clothing and personal effects, headed Record of Bodies and Effects, Passengers and Crew SS Titanic, Recovered by Cable Steamer MacKay- Bennett including Bodies Buried at Sea and Bodies Delivered at Morgue in Halifax, NS. Details compiled from records of the Mackay-Bennett'. The list was not prepared for public dissemination but to provide an accurate, official record of the victims and to help in making any future identifications, as the entries also included physical descriptions. The list contains details on such notable victims as John Jacob Astor IV of New York (Body No. 124), the richest man on board, responsible for many iconic institutions including New York's Astoria, later Waldorf-Astoria Hotel; also of Isidor Straus (Body No. 96) of Macy's Department Store. After Astor's body was brought to Halifax, the captain of his yacht Noma, Richard Roberts, was sent by Astor's family to identify the body. Upon seeing it, Roberts said, It is he. This list was subsequently obtained by Roberts, and is the only such list we are aware of that was given to a victim's representative, likely owing to the importance of the Astor name. Astor was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in New York City. The name R. Roberts with his Brooklyn, New York address is pencilled onto the free end page, and in another hand on the back of the last page is Miss Lalla Roberts, also of Brooklyn. The list remained in the Brooklyn, New York area until recently. The first page is a key showing how the recovered bodies were disposed of, with numerous small pencil notations added next to each key. The list consists of about 75 pages. The front and back purple covers are detached as is the last page containing entries for Body Nos. 303-306. The last page and both covers have some losses not affecting text. The interior is clean and provides a primary source of body recovery information, as the list was officially prepared by the provincial coroner. It is an important piece of the body recovery aspect of the sinking and of Titanic's overall story. Approx. 8.5 x 13 inches. Original binding consists of two paper clips at the top.
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