Photographs of Mrs. Oscar W. Johnson, Miss Eleanor Ileen Johnson, and another man
VARIOUS PROPERTIES
Photographs of Mrs. Oscar W. Johnson, Miss Eleanor Ileen Johnson, and another man

Details
Photographs of Mrs. Oscar W. Johnson, Miss Eleanor Ileen Johnson, and another man
three silver albumen prints, two cut and laid down on oval card mounts, the third in an oval photo mat/mount; each mount stamped in silver "White Star Line/The Titanic/Souvenir Photo". Depicting a young woman, Mrs. Oscar W. Johnson (Elisabeth Vilhelmina Backberg), 24; a young girl, Miss Eleanor Ileen Johnson, 1; and an un-identified man, presumably Oskar Walter Johnson, the father. On the back of the photo of Mrs. Oscar W. Johnson is marked "I saved these from the ship I was on in my purse -- Eleanor" and on the back of Miss Eleanor Ileen Johnson photograph is marked "I saved these from our sinking ship -- Eleanor 1912"; on the back of the image of the man is a ghost image of a family of four, indicating there were additional photographs from this group.
9 x 6 in. (22.9 x 15.2 cm) and smaller. (3)

Lot Essay

Miss Eleanor Ileen Johnson (later Schuman) boarded the Titanic at Southampton on Wednesday, April 10th, 1912. She was 19 months old at the time and traveled on a third class ticket with her mother, Mrs. Elisabeth Vilhelmina Johnson, and brother, Master Harold Theodor Johnson, who was four. It is not clear why her father was not traveling with the family. It is believed that the Johnson family was rescued in lifeboat 15, one of the last boats to be launched. These photographs were likely taken by an enterprising photographer in Southampton, prior to departure, as neither White Star Line nor R.M.S. Titanic had on-board or souvenir photographers. The inscriptions are later, and the signature appears to match other documents signed by Eleanor Schuman. These images were purchased by the current owner at an estate sale of a family who knew Mrs. Schuman as an adult.

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