Published Tuesday, 14 October 2014
Never-before-seen photographs of RMS Titanic in Belfast have gone on display for the first time.
The rare pictures were captured over 100 years ago by John Kempster, one of the directors of ship builders Harland and Wolff. The sepia stills of the doomed liner can be viewed at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra, Co Down.
The album contains 116 prints including some of Mr. Kempster's trip to America on Titanic's sister ship the Olympic during her maiden voyage. Assistant Curator Karen Logan explained: "The album begins with his journey to New York to visit his uncle, we see him on board Olympic's maiden voyage which he took to New York.
"We can see children playing on the deck and really rare on-board photography which shows some of the games they were involved in, pillow fights and egg and spoon race."
Some of the pictures also capture the excitement and interest surrounding the liner - with crowds following Titanic as she left the slipway.
In April 1912, 1,500 passengers and crew lost their lives after the liner hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
William Blair from National Museums Northern Ireland added: "One of the reasons in many ways I think Titanic is such a compelling story is because of the way the ship is almost a perfect mirror reflection of society on land with all of the class distinctions etc., it is almost like Downton Abbey at sea. This album captures that wonderfully."
While the album is on show it will remain closed amid fears it could be damaged by light, but the images can be seen by the public via an audio-visual display.