Bernie Palmer's Titanic contract with Underwood & Underwood
notes: label: Description
content: The captain of the Titanic's rescue ship Carpathia imposed a news blackout on all communications from his ship until all of the Titanic survivors had disembarked from his ship in New York. The demand for stories was unparalleled, and journalists swarmed Carpathia looking for firsthand accounts of the shipwreck and rescue. An unnamed newsman for Underwood & Underwood, a New York photography agency, scored one of the most valuable scoops when he met 17-year-old Bernice Palmer, a passenger on Carpathia who happened to have a Kodak Brownie camera. She had taken pictures not only of the Titanic survivors on Carpathia's deck; she also had photos of the actual iceberg that sank Titanic. The newsman offered to develop, print and return the pictures to Bernie, along with $10.00. Not realizing the extraordinary value of her photos, Bernie readily agreed, and Underwood and Underwood obtained unique images of the Titanic shipwreck for a pittance. This is the contract between Bernie and the U&U newsman transferring rights to the pictures. In 1986, Bernie gave her camera, Titanic photographs, and other associated materials to the Smithsonian.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.0173.39
label: accession number
content: 1986.0173
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0173.39
objectType: label: Object Name
content: contract
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)