Titanic Tributes are a series of linked activities connected with the aftermath of the Titanic disaster and attempts by the British and American public to raise money for destitute survivors and their families.
Activities relate to video content in The Titanic Sinks and Epilogue sections of the Wreck of the Titanic CD Rom
After the Titanic sank, fund raising performances took place in music halls, cinemas and theatres. These included singers, actors and musicians. Many performances told the story of the Titanic through words and music, and sometimes included a 'Magic Lantern' picture show.
Magic lantern Image courtesy of Gothic Tea Society
The Magic Lantern was an early type of slide projector. During Victorian and Edwardian times, travelling projectionists visited villages and towns putting on shows. The projectionist was often a good entertainer, and shows sometimes included acting and singing. Find out more about magic lanterns from the Magic Lantern Society
By 1912 lots of cinemas had opened, but lantern shows were still popular. Along with newspapers and cinema newsreels. the lantern was an important way of presenting news stories, especially when photographs and cine film were not available. For example, during the Boer war, skilled artists recorded their impressions of battles from the descriptions of soldiers and civilians. These would be hand coloured, and made into slides. Sets would be duplicated, and distributed to cinemas. Artist's impressions are still used on news programmes today to record courtroom proceedings, whenever photography is not allowed.
Click here to view a series of slides produced by Bamforth and Company to mark the Titanic Disaster.
The set is made up coloured 'artists impressions', photographs, and montages (a mix of the two).
Activities.
- Can children sequence the Bamforth Titanic slides, describing the events of the Titanic disaster and its aftermath as depicted by the set?
- What additional slides might be created and added to enhance the Titanic narrative?
- Draw, and colour, images of the Titanic disaster. Scan them, and import the digitised images into a Photostory presentation
- Using Photostory, create a 'slide show' inspired by the Bamforth images (NB any public performance including Bamforth images MUST seek the permission of the copyright holders)
Forthcoming Titanic Tributes activities
- Adding soundtracks: David Ashworth
- Exploring storyboards: Katharine Langley-Hamel
- Recreating Saved from the Titanic: Kevin Hamel
- The Wreck of the Titanic: Jeanette Forrester
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