Margaret Brown's Titanic Story: Part Two The Rescue by the Carpathia and Other Incidents Wednesday, May 29th, 1912- It was fully lighted, but not one moving object was visible. Suddenly a rift in the water, the sea opened up and the surface foamed like giant arms spread around the ship, and the vessel disappeared from [...]
The Sailing of the Ill Fated Steamship May 28, 1912 - Mrs. James J. Brown of Denver, well known as a summer resident of Newport, has written for the Herald a comprehensive story of the first and last voyage of the steamer Titanic on which she was a passenger. As Mrs. Brown is a keen [...]
A binnacle is the housing for a ship’s compass. The idea behind a binnacle is to counter the magnetic deviation caused by the ship being made of iron so that the compass can point to magnetic north. Metals that were used to construct binnacles were required to be non-ferrous (containing no iron) such [...]
“I am a woman who has traveled all over the world, who has eaten with chopsticks and sat tailor fashion.” –Margaret Brown By the 19th century a new class of solo women travelers appeared in the United States and Europe. These women traveled not to accompany husbands but to please themselves, venturing beyond destinations considered [...]
At the turn of the twentieth century, major advances in transatlantic travel were being made. In 1868, Thomas Ismay purchased the bankrupt White Star Line shipping company. Ismay decided to focus on providing shipping services in the North Atlantic. This spurred competition between shipping lines. White Star Line’s greatest competition was the Cunard Line. The [...]
In a time when technology was rapidly changing, shipping lines such as Cunard Line, White Star Line, Norddeutscer-Lloyd, and Hamburg-Amerika were competing to be the fastest and most elegant ships on the sea. From 1812 to 1912 the rate of sea travel nearly quadrupled- a trip across the north Atlantic that once took over a [...]
Do you ever wonder where some of our Christmas traditions come from? The Victorian period saw many changes to Christmas due to the massive influx of immigrants and industrialization which helped create our own American traditions. In 1890, Christmas became a national holiday and was celebrated by many Americans regardless of their religious background. At [...]
It is hard for us to believe in an age with smartphones that “calling” once took on a different meaning. In the Victorian time period, calling meant to visit in person to express thanks or regrets. According to proper Victorian etiquette, this was the only acceptable means of communicating one’s social obligation. A personal visit [...]
This summer’s exhibit at the Molly Brown House Museum, following the 2010 memorialization of Judge Ben Lindsey as part of the dedication of the new Lindsey-Flannigan Courthouse in Denver, is The City and the Children: Denver’s Juvenile Justice System. This exhibit focuses on the work of Judge Ben Lindsey and his efforts to champion a [...]
At the Molly Brown House Museum we are decorated for Christmas and looking forward to fun events such as our Candlelight tours, Christmas Teas, and docent-led tours of the home. To get everyone in the holiday spirit here is some interesting information on the roots of Christmas, especially in relation to Victorian traditions. We hope [...]